


Human In Disguise

by welcometothisday



Series: Human(s) In Disguise [2]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007), Transformers: Rescue Bots
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Comedy, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, How Do I Tag, I have no idea what's going on, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Character of Color, M/M, Megatron Broke God, Other, Some Plot, THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A COMEDY, Tags Are Hard, These Guys Need Help Serious Help, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-05-01 19:56:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 60,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19184557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometothisday/pseuds/welcometothisday
Summary: This WAS a series of one shots/crack chapters following A (Idiot) Human In Disguise. ) Somehow some plot got thrown in.The Autobots have gained an unlikely, albeit strange, new ally. They have no bloody idea who this human is.In short, Autobots are confused, government officials are frustrated, and Megatron and his Decepticons want to see if this human can be squished._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Maristella Milagros wasn't entirely sure what to think when she saw a giant, car/jet/robot fight in her almost literal backyard in the middle of the night, but at the time she'd been tired, really tired. So, she had written a note on one of the cars going to scrap metal, turned on the ignition, and had the car drive itself into what was apparently a "Decepticon".Somehow, that lead to her running around in leather, pretending that she wasn't screaming on the inside.Yeah, she had no bloody clue what was going on, but she was pretty sure the giant robots that liked destroying stuff and nearly killing humans were the bad guys, so...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is largely based on Transformers Prime, but has elements/blend of other series, including some of the movies.
> 
> Expect some cameos.

“Okay, according to our profile experts, we’re looking for a white, adolescent male,” Fowler said to both his fellow agents, and the Autobots. “Likely a delinquent at that. We have a few primary suspects, including one who was put in jail hours after the, uh, explosive flatulence, incident-"

There were more than a few snickers and mutterings about a 'poor Decepticon'.

"-and was unaccountable for the time window that our ‘friend’ was with us.”

The Autobots shared looks, where Arcee whispered to Windblade, “We haven’t even caught a glimpse of their plating, nor have our audiosensors picked up on an accent or range of tones. How are they so sure of this?”

Windblade narrowed her optics, “Unsure, but it is a tactic they have used before to catch criminals, namely killers.”

“Is he really a criminal though?” Wheeljack asked quietly.

Optimus stood in the background, monitoring the situation as discussions flooded the room. Ratchet glanced from the computer up at the giant mech. “…You’re conflicted.”

“Yes, old friend,” Optimus rumbled. “I appreciate the human’s kindness, but I fear that they are likely to bring harm unto themselves.”

The way he said ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ was apparent. “You don’t trust the humans’ judgement when it comes to, ‘profiling’?”

Optimus thought of stories and articles they had read. “Innocents have been hurt from assumptions and stereotypes. Forgive me if I do not believe in this process.”

“Then what, Optimus?” Ratched exclaimed. “ _They_ are obviously reckless! We can’t chance that…Not when there’s so few of us left.”

The former librarian hummed, “Then perhaps, we should just speak to them?"

Their sensors picked up an explosion nearby. The alarms went off, and Fowler ran out of the Groundbridge, acting as though he were preparing for war. They all doubted it was just from the Decepticons.

"...I have a feeling it won't be that easy, Optimus."

 

* * *

 

“Frag you, human!”

What does that mean? Giant robots were weird. Giant transforming robots were weirder. However, she got the gist of it, and signed, “ _Man up and fuck yourself, coward!”_

No one could really understand her, but then again neither did she. Deep down, did she have a death wish? Most likely.

Maristella knew she was out of bullets, so, she tossed the gun at Starscream’s head, taking some joy in the clank of metal against metal. What was it called? Yeeting? Wow it was hard not yelling that out. He still glowered at her, and she waved before blowing two, consecutive raspberries in a ‘meep meep’ kind of way.

She was an idiot. She was an idiot! Shewasanidiot! SHE WAS AN IDIOT!!!

That’s when she saw a motorcycle chained down and in a truck. It belonged to the US Government...Bwahaha!

Leaping onto the platform, she pulled out the gas cap, and drove the truck straight at Starscream. Seeing their horror was most satisfying, especially when she leapt out of the car and left the vehicle hit him. Oh, and there was a nice explosion too.

Aw man, bye bye bike. She knew thee well.

Maristella even saluted her fallen partner, watching as Starscream called out those befuddling curses, running away rather sluggishly.

Oh dear God, she’d blow half of his wings off. That was, actually, really disturbing.

Staring at the weird cube in her hands, she wondered what was so special about it that Decepticons were willing to blow up a side of a mountain for it? It was this big, blue thingy that lit up like a Christmas light. There was more like it so she doubted it was the Cosmic Cube, which was a little disappointing. She was tempted to shake it, so she did. Nothing moved or rattled or came out of it. Hopefully it wasn’t radioactive. That would suck, immensely.

Glancing around, she looked for agents and all sorts of government agents she knew were bound to appear. Shrugging, she slowly started walking back to the caves in the canyons. 

“Hold it right there!”

Oh, well there you go, it was the government. AKA, the source of all evil, possibly barring giant robots that wanted to kill people.

She signed ‘silly’, waving her closed hand (except her pinky and thumb) at a parallel angle. The agent gaped, several agents behind him either smirking or frowning at the action. To distract him, she threw the cube at his face. Then, she ran for it, climbing up on of the cave walls.

What? She grew up in this town, and all of the people there had navigated the caves at one point or another. Maristella knew of all kinds of secret places that these people wouldn’t. Plus, they seemed either out of shape, or had trouble climbing natural rock surfaces, especially the slippery kind. Funny, she thought soldiers were trained to do that kind of thing. You know, at like those military facilities?

A couple of them stood in front of her at the top, and she realized that she had made a whoops, a big whoops. They had their weapons out, and were trying to convince her to come along. Good thing she knew these caves better than anyone.

Running to an edge, she waved amicably, held out her arms, and fell backwards. Grabbing onto a ledge just beneath, she threw herself beneath into a deeper tunnel of the cave, glad that the small curtain made of moss fell back into place as she landed. Above her, the government agents ran where they thought she’d be.

Even though they couldn't see her, Maristella couldn't help but flip them off.

Sliding through a tight space, she grumbled under her breath, "Thank God, I'm 5'4."

Wincing, she removed her boots, causing her to look smaller than she really was, and she was fun sized to begin with. Maristella was below anyone’s radar. Frowning slightly, she watched her hands as she removed her gloves. She had been growing calluses in different areas than where’d they been before.

She checked her outfit for anything like trackers, and even plunged it briefly into the cave waters (not very sanitary, but she didn’t mind as long as it was cleaned later), wrapping it into a small, plastic bag before putting it into the bottom of a handbag, in one of its own compartments that she’d sewn herself. Her mother taught her how to make such pockets to hide wallets, tasers, pepper spray, you name it.

Changing into a much more “ladylike” outfit, including heels, skirt, and blouse, she walked out one of the unmapped exits, arriving just behind one of the local grocery stores. She made sure she was in front of cameras, as if would take the normal person nearly an hour to get to where she was, and another to get back. The government agents might have faster vehicles or some other method, but even then it would take them a far longer time to get from there to the far opposite of town.

It wasn’t until hours later that she noticed in the corner of her eye that the agents were returning, all covered in dirt, mud, and since it was a cave, probably a lot more unsanitary biological matter.

Ew.


	2. Chapter 2

Maristella was surprised no one was arresting her. They were all just staring, humans and Autobots. She looked around, then at herself, and pointed.

"Yes, you!" Agent Simmons squawked. "How did you-?! Why-?!"

She began making gestures to explain things when the yellow Autobot approached her. She poised herself to run, but the Autobot, even if you couldn't see his real face, smiled. Damn it, it was a cute one too. And oh God, how it spoke. Radio and references? That was so cool. _"Thank you, for saving me."_

The tension in her loosened, and underneath her own mask, she frowned. She almost got there too late, and even then the people she sought to help got hurt because she didn't use her own voice. That Breakdown, as she learned his name was, had nearly bashed both Fowler and Bumblebee. The only reason he hadn't, was because she had managed to get onto his back somehow, and jam a sharp stone into his eye. Even she wasn't entirely sure how she did it, but guessed it had to do with adrenaline. The stuff did wonders.

She raised her hands to sign, and remembered that they couldn't understand her. Seeing more Autobots and agents appear, she bowed to them, and almost ran faster than her pulse would allow. Oddly enough, none followed her. She thought they would, and when she checked for tracking devices, anything, she decided to play it safe and bleached her outfit at the local laundromat, where thankfully there weren't cameras, and few people ever used it. Nothing came out of it, and her helmet could take the electic shock with conduits and circuit breakers. Just for giggles, she even hotwired it with a car's stray cables that her father and brother were working on.

Nothing could be found, but she knew she had to change something...

* * *

 

The next time they saw her, she was wearing a Darth Vader helmet. Don’t worry, she had extra padding in there, so it still offered _some_ protection, just not as much as her other one. Bumblebee, as soon as he saw her, did the iconic breathing. Or at least he played it from somewhere. Maristella wondered how he felt about the droids in the movies.

She pressed a button on her own helmet, letting the voice speak for her in short phrases. “ _I am altering the deal, pray I don’t alter it further._ ”

The guy named Fowler choked on his donut, gaping. “Holy mother of-?!”

All she did was shrug. “ _I find your lack of faith, disturbing.”_

“…Get rid of that thing, now,” the agent demanded.

When she went into the fray, she played the Star Wars theme music to both distract the Decepticons, and get the Autobots’ attention without them getting shot. Bumblebee made excited noises. Wow, she was really starting to like him. He knew Star Wars references, which made it hard _not_ to like him. It only got worse when he challenged her to a dance off in the aftermath of the miniature battle.

She stiffened, backing away and shaking her head. Then, she touched her helmet, realizing that no one knew who she was. There were a couple of agents grinning below the two, clearly expecting something more fun after that encounter. Maristella was either gaining their trust, or in a trap of some kind.

Her inner conflict only got worse when Bumblebee tried to cheer her on, and bizarre when Agent Simmons mumbled a, “screw it,” and side walked up to her, doing the disco dance. Others looked horrified, and for Maristella, her shoulders hunched forward as she fought the urge to laugh. Instead, she made sure the voice changer was on. Man, James Earl Jones had a voice like magic.

_“…Your powers are weak, old man.”_

Ignoring the catcalls and shrieks of laughter, she moonwalked right past him. Then, she held up her hands, nodding her head at Bumblebee, and began clapping the rhythm for ‘Another One Bites the Dust’. At first, she tried mimicking some of Simmons' moves while they both danced, and then at one of the solos, she decided to be more of an a-hole. Jumping in the air, she remembered her old dance classes as a kid, some of which included a faux ballet course. Then, she added some moves from a few of Michael Jackson’s tunes.

Near the end, she moonwalked again and mock saluted Simmons and Bumblebee, jumping backwards into a cavern again.

“That guy’s nuts!”

“Yeah, but a good dancer.”

Fowler groaned, “Still wish he wouldn’t use Darth Vader’s helmet.”

* * *

 

Going through a different entrance than last time, just in case, she moved along stone instead of dirt to better cover her tracks. After she made it to the bathroom, she took a shower in one of the swimming pool stalls nearby. Changing, she checked her clothing again, and put on perfume that her mother got for her.

In the marketplace, a little over an hour later, she lingered in the cooking meat area, watching as the soldiers and their canine units searched. No one appeared suspicious of her, and instead ran in multiple directions. They asked questions of civilians in the area, including her.

“We’re looking for a five foot six Caucasian, adolescent male that rides motorcycles,” the agent addressing her said, showing a sketch of her outfit. Oh Lord, they tried to profile her?! “Any bikers come into town? Might be mute?”

Thank goodness for her heeled boots, disguising her real height. Oh, and they thought she was a teenage white boy?

 

...Whelp, at least her disguise worked.

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Megatron glowered down at the human.

"Where is the energon reserve," he growled.

Why was their headgear different?

The human shrugged, and a deep, raspy voice came out of it. " _Be careful not to choke on your aspirations._ "

Was that their voice? It was much more...Interesting, than he thought it would be. "It is difficult for me to  _choke_  on anything. You however-"

" _Search your feelings, you know it to be true!_ "

Behind him, Knockout was laughing, and Starscream glaring. "Please, can we just squish the blasted human?!"

" _All I am surrounded by is fear_ ," the human said, leaning against the canyon wall, nonchalantly.

Knockout was cackling now, and Megatron looked at him, expecting an explanation. "H-humans have vids for entertainment. He's quoting one of the characters from a very famous one."

The human waved, their posture showing enthusiasm, directing it at Knockout. " _This will be a day long remembered._ "

"I like this human," Knockout commented. "So, where is the energon?"

It tilted its head, glancing between the three of them. Then, they casually leaned over to one of the sides of the mountain. All three were prepared for a weapon of some kind, but in differing ways. Megatron was likely to rip the human apart, Starscream was terrified, and Knockout, he was just curious. None quite expected when she threw an energon cube smack dab in Megatron's face. Starscream had been so scared, that he got his blaster out and shot the cube right before it hit Megatron. The contents of said cube splattered on Megatron. Needless to say, he was not pleased.

However, the human had disappeared, leaving Starscream with an angered Megatron.

"...Knockout, have the drones investigate where the human took the energon out of. Starscream...A word."

Starscream let out a little whimper.

Megatron's irritation only grew when he found out there was no energon there. It had just been a hiding place for, the now juiced over Megatron's face, energon cube the human had.

Let's just say Starscream was having a very, very bad day.

* * *

 

The Autobots had been monitoring the situation from afar, some suspecting the human of betraying them. Instead, Wheeljack couldn't stop his laughter, and even Ratchet let out a few snickers.

Optimus smiled a little, not by much, but it was still a smile.

Arcee watched the human as they disappeared into yet another cave tunnel. "That human has to be a native. They know the land too well. Optimus, should we follow him?"

"Yes," he rumbled, coughing a little. "But do not capture them. We need to earn more of their trust. Bumblebee? The human seemed to enjoy interacting with you. Arcee, accompany him, seeing as the human uses a similar vehicle as your alternate mode."

"No offense Optimus," Wheeljack snorted, "But Arcee might be a little, polar from this human's personality. He might want a Wrecker there instead-"

"Ooh,me!Me!" Blurr called out. "I'mfunnytoo!

Could the human even understand Blurr? Sometimes the Autobots themselves had a hard time doing so. Bumblebee raised a hand, his radio voice crackling, " _How about the boss?_ "

Yeah, Optimus wasn't exactly a common name to put together. Windblade held her chin. "What makes you say that? He's even more of a polar opposite."

" _He saved the boss_ ," Bee explained. " _I think he likes the big bot. He might listen._ "

"Or irritate him to the Well of Sparks," Ratchet grumbled, cursing when the computer shocked him again. "Fragging, glitching, mech of a-!"

Bumblee let out a loud radio noise to cover up some of Ratchet's words, and turned to Optimus for his opinion. Optimus was rubbing his optics, groaning and muttering something under his breath. "I will go, but I would prefer for Arcee to stay in the general vicinity. It's uncommon for a human to be able to disable two Decepticons the way he did. Though I wish to trust this human, we must remain vigilant."

"We also need to give that human a fragging name, " Ratchet snarled, hitting part of the computer. "There are too many humans here!"

* * *

Maristella Milagros decided for once to just mind her own business and NOT look for trouble. Life at home was getting stressful, especially with how overcrwded it was getting. Few people ever seemed to notice when she was gone or there, whichever the case it may be. All she wanted was to spend some time, alone, in the middle of the countryside.

Whelp, that didn't work.

Coming to sit at the edge of a canyon wall, she was nearly shocked out of her seat when a loud song began playing.

_"NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP, NEVER GONNA LET YOU DOWN-!"_

Wait, she knew that radio sounding voice. Turning upside down, she propelled herself to look underneath the high ledge, surprising both herself and those there, when she saw Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. There was a pause, and Bumblebee made a whirring noise, gesturing to Optimus Prime with jazz hands. _"Ladies and gentlemen! The Great and Powerful Oz!"_

"What?" Optimus asked, utterly confused. "Er, human, my name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

She nodded, raising one finger (no, not the middle) and crawled down steadily, stilling as she realized how big Optimus really was. " _What is thy bidding, my Master?"_

Bumblebee was wheezing, while Optimus remained confused. Her own shoulders shook from laughter, and she tapped the side of her helmet. Thank goodness her family was made up of mechanics, engineers, programmers, and electricians, 'cause you could make all kinds of new toys with those kinds of skills. This time, she didn't sound like Darth Vader, but it was her own words instead of an preprogrammed set of terms.

None probably expected for her to sound like Sean Connery aka "Bond, James Bond." It took a great deal of restraint to avoid saying that. "N _eeded to do that at least once. I know who you are, Optimus Prime. I almost hit you with a car, once. I have terrible aim. Sorry about that."_

She carefully offered her hand, wondering how he'd react. To her surprise, he actually held out one of his fingers in the attempt to shake it. Bumblebee whirred with happiness.

" _I also have some idea of who you are Bumblebee,"_  she added.  _"And a little of the Autobots. It's an honor to officially meet you both."_

Was Optimus about to have a conniption? Maristella waved her hand, regaining his attention momentarily. Before he could say anything though, she took out her paper map, showing only a few of the caverns that weren't on normal maps, certain areas marked. After all, she needed to keep some secrets. " _That weird glowing stuff? It's in these places, it has been for a long time. I was a kid when I found some of it. Energon, right?"_

There was a crackle of something breaking. She startled, handing the map to Bumblebee and ran for it. It was a female Autobot that called out, "Wait! I'm sorry, I was just worried about my friends!"

Maristella tensed, slowly taking some steps forward, unsure. Bumblebee tried making comforting noises, but she couldn't help looking around. After a moment, she decided to turn on her Darth Vader helmet once more. Gesturing to herself, she had it say, " _You are unwise to lower your defenses."_

Then she nodded at the map, escaping away from there. When she went home, she made sure she wasn't tracked or had anything to fear.

...She really had been a fool, hadn't she?

* * *

 

"You Rick Rolled him," Fowler groaned, "Really?"

Bumblebee shrugged, _"He seemed okay with it. He thought it was funny."_

"The problem lies with the fact we may have lost any trust we just built with him," Optimus murmured, gazing at the map that had been enlarged on the monitor. "Some of these places, your human maps don't have."

Simmons had his arms crossed, leaning on the banister of the next highest platform. He was surrounded by agent vehicles and some human amenities, such as bathrooms, a kitchen, etcetera. "That makes sense. There are still a lot of unexplored areas on Earth most of us can't access. Look at how narrow some of these tunnels are. We already know the guy is skinny, and a bit short, so he might be able to more easily navigate them. Plus, didn't he say something about exploring as a kid?"

"Yes, he did," Optimus rumbled, not moving his optics away from the screen. "I thought it was dangerous for your kind to maneuver in such places."

"It is," Fowler said, grimacing. "This guy isn't inexperienced though. He knows those caves better than any of us, combined-"

The humans still talked, but Optimus found his central processor scanning and re-scanning the information. The human had acted differently near him, even if the human was perplexing. The human respected Optimus for reasons beyond to him. He was kind to the Autobots, and protective of them considering how he so adamantly fought to save Bumblebee's spark.

But, seeing how their ally "deflated", as humans would say, he felt saddened by how the human closed him and the others off. They'd been excited to see  _him_ , and somehow he let the human disappointed.

He only hoped that the human was still willing to remain an ally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus:
> 
> Megatron roared, "Who are you?!"
> 
> The human stilled, shaking a little, but not in fear. They pressed something on their theatrical helmet. 
> 
> "I am your father!"
> 
> Most were used to Megatron yelling in frustration at Starscream, but they definitely weren't used to him cursing, nonetheless at such a tiny human.
> 
> "I WILL TAKE YOUR HIDE AND DISPLAY IT ON MY SHIP'S HULL, YOU LITTLE-!"
> 
> It was a different voice this time, "Kinky."
> 
> ...
> 
> "ARGH!!!!"


	4. Chapter 4

Maristella was an idiot, a huge one. Inside, she was screaming as she found herself surrounded by Decepticons. While she kind of liked Knockout, he was kind of scary right now.

Starscream sneered, "Nowhere to hide not, eh, fleshling?"

Yep, she had a death wish.  _"Seriously, of all the insults, you came with that one?"_

The decepticon scoffed, "I dare you to do better." At the way the inclined her head, he scowled. "No, don't-"

 _"Your paint job is horrid,"_ she started, mentally looking for a way out.  _"_ _Your life control is rusty, and your propulsion sounds like a leak in a exhaust manifold. You don't just suck, your systems can't even suck air properly. What kind of a flight vehicle are you? And here I thought that was your best feature. After all, you're a scrappy at being a decepticon, literally."_

Huh, she didn't think robots' expression could turn that mortified. Breakdown turned to Knockout, "Did you record all of that?"

"Yep, Megatron will love this."

"SHUT UP!"

 _"Knockout,_ " the decepticon in question started to frown, likely wondering what kinds of insults she was about to throw at him.  _"Nice rims. Astin Martin V8, right? "_

Starscream gaped. "Wait, why does he get the compliments?!"

" _'Cause your voice is irritating, your engines emit too much exhaust, you-"_ There was a high pitched scream, and she shrugged, " _Hey, you're the one who dared me. Shall I go on?"_

He lunged for her, and she leapt out of the way, jumping and grabbing onto the back of his neck. There, she began to mess with the wiring that was visible. She was better with cars, but it's always fun to hot wire stuff. She didn't quite expect it when his blasters starting going off randomly all over the place, but she did expect there would be more than a few dents and scratches.

Vaulting herself off him to a ledge nearby, she grunted, the slam of the stone likely bruising a rib or two. Climbing up, she narrowly dodged another blast. "What are you, a simian?!"

Did he just call her a monkey?

_..."Ooh Eeh Ooh Ah Aah Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang!"_

Damn, that sounded so weird from the voice of Sean Connery.

Starscream's screams were quickly becoming the new Wilhelm scream. Hesitating, she glanced at Knockout. It was kind of hard to hate someone who liked references as much as you do. So, she did something utterly stupid...She took out the spare hot wax that another car maintenance store in town had. She'd been a secret shopper there, and apparently, this wax had some good reviews. Facing Knockout, she twisting, and made a softball pitch at him.

" _Knockout!"_ He barely caught it in time, and his own expression of surprise met hers. " _Keep up the gorgeous paint job! Good luck!"_

What, she was literally raised in a shop with mechanics and electricians. Believe it or not, she knew something about cars. Waving at him, she ran once more.

Too bad some of the drones were following her, and they had blocked the entrance to the caves. Semi-luckily though, a motorcycle (driving itself) appeared before her.

"Get on." Maristella did, starting to handle the motorcycle with near expertise, but remembered that this wasn't exactly a normal vehicle. It was kind of rude to do what she had planned. The Autobot sped then, her wheels kicking up a massive amount of dirt and dust into the drone's faces. "Hang on!"

She did, and she did it with the expertise that any motorcyclist might, still letting Arcee take control. More Autobots entered the fray as Arcee began to get away. " _What about them?!"_

"We can handle ourselves. You're the squishy one!"

Maristella frowned, " _They've  got some kind of artifact. I saw where they took it."_

Arcee halted, considering their options. "Where?"

" _In the leftmost hangar,"_ she said. " _In the back, there's some kind of shelving system. There were other devices too, and we both know that you can't carry it all."_

"Scrap."

And that's how Maristella got the Apex Armor, the two of them burst in there, and Maristella threw a large amount of the devices and/or energon supplies through some kind of Star Trek level scifi called a "Ground Bridge". Taking off the armor and tossing it at Arcee, she was starting to jog away, when the female robot spoke.

"I really was worried about my friends, you know," Arcee said. "Stay safe, human."

As the Autobot left, Maristella found herself lingering, if only for a few seconds. " _Data. You can call me, Data."_

Hey, if they were going to pull that Star Trek scifi out from who knew where, then she might as well use something Trekky too. Plus, she was tired of being called 'human' as a title. 

 

If Arcee had any knowledge of the name, then she certainly didn't show it. Maristella's ribs began to ache, and she moved to go get her own medical attention.

* * *

 

Optimus wasn't sure what to think when Wheeljack came back with Bulkhead from their entertainment venue (basically, they watched human sports through a window in a pub, and the bar fights inside too), with a paper note in between Wheeljack's digits. He showed it to Optimus, who in turn, felt something in his spark heavy.

_Got hurt last fight. Nothing fatal. Just need time to heal. Stay safe. - Data_

"This human does know we're seasoned warriors capable of handling ourselves, doesn't he?" Windblade commented.

"There's more to the message," Bulkhead pointed out, having Optimus flip over the small paper.

_PS I have someone to protect. I'm trying to stay safe instead of sorry, hard as it may be to believe. Good luck._

Rachet snorted in irritation (although the slight worry was evident), "At least he's willing to acknowledge when he's hurt. The rest of you, however-"

The computer beeped, and Fowler appeared on the screen. "Prime! There's an emergency situation. Decepticons are in the town, and they've got scanners out. They're hunting for something."

"Data," Optimus uttered, concern in his tone, "Autobots, roll out!"

* * *

 

 Maristella watched as the Decepticons were digging under Jablonsky's Music Shop and Studio. She had to think of a plan, preferably one that didn't involve her dying, or at least didn't get her hurt more than she already was. That's when the Ground Bridge opened, and out came multiple Autobots, including ones she didn't know.

"It'll be too late, Prime! We uncovered the Allspark shards!"

Oh, so that shiny crystal stuff was what the bad guys were after? Well, thank goodness she was tiny, and pretty good at being stealthy. While the Autobots and Decepticons were monologing and fighting, she just walked over, picked up the cylindrical container with the sparkly stuff in it, and walked away. Hearing the Decepticons not being happy was really making her day. It only got better when she saw the vehicles retreating, that she did something crazy.

Riding her motorcycle, she drove alongside Prime just as they were asking where she might've been, and what happened to the Allspark Shards. She knocked on his car door. " _Peekaboo."_

His lights flared, and she laughed as she tossed the cylinder through his car window into the driver's seat.

_"See you guys next time."_

She gave them a mock salute, hearing Bumblebee making his happy, beeping and whirring noises. Before she could drive away though, that evil, disturbingly beautiful, deep voice came from the truck. "Thank you, Data."

Maristella slowed for a a half second, trying not to react.

" _...Mind if I train with you guys sometime? This is my planet too, and you're good people. I can't, and won't, just stand by."_

Gone was the snark and playfulness. In that moment, they heard her. Optimus's voice rang in the air once more. "Yes, we can, and will, should you choose to accept our help."

 

Well, holy shit.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some plot?

"Data, this is Ratchet, our medic," Arcee said, watching the two with mild curiosity as they examined each other.

Ratchet rarely went outdoors, but Optimus insisted that he leave the base every once in a while, and the human still wasn't comfortable returning to their sanctuary. He had said that he also didn't like the idea of teleporting into strange places, or interacting with government agents too much. It appeared that their disguised friend had some kind of vendetta against his own kind.

Ratchet frowned, and said bluntly, "I don't like you."

The human shrugged, not minding his statement. " _...I'll be...making no noise and pretending I don't exist._ "

He left Ratchet confounded in what just happened. Basically, the human would try not to bother him? Hopefully? Why did that sound like a quote, by the way? "And this is Bulkhead and Wheeljack, our resident wreckers."

 _"The heavy hitters,"_ Data said, nodding. " _Like the Hulk."_

Arcee was going to pretend she knew what that meant. "Blurr, the fastest of us."

"HI, HUMAN!"

The human jumped back, startled when he came out of nowhere, and by how loud he was. Chuckling, Arcee added, "This is Windblade, our best flyer."

"Your only flyer on this team," Windblade scoffed, narrowing her optics suspiciously at the human. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Data tilted his head, and rolled up part of his sleeve to show, dark skin? " _What you look like is the least of my concerns. It's your actions that matter."_

That was right, humans often prejudiced against others of their kind based on appearance. Typically, it was those with darker hues that were placed into lower castes. The human covered his flesh once more, surveying the team. "Then there's a couple more who are out on a more, discreet, mission. There's Chromia, and Prowl, each who are vehicles you know as 'cars'. They're the stealthy ones."

The human seemed to shrug often, and gestured to his motorcycle.

"...Sure. And you already know me, Optimus, and Bumblebee." This time, the human waved to the three of them in a silent greeting. "You don't talk much, do you?"

" _I usually talk when I'm messing with someone, or when there's important information to convey."_

"Thank the Allspark for that," Ratched grumbled.

Windblade nodded, "Problem is, it'll make things difficult for communication overall. I can telepathically interact with the rest of you bots, but the human?" The human reached under their helmet then, and tapped a communication device, gesturing to Windblade. It was disturbing not to see the human's initial reaction to the concept of Windblade being a telepath. "...You, want to connect that device to one of our frequencies? On our usual com link instead?"

She got a thumbs up.

"It's, not exactly the same, but it's a start," Windblade commented, carefully taking it. "Ratchet, any ideas?"

"I'd be able to, if it weren't so tiny," he grumbled, glaring at it.

Data casually walked over to their motorcycle, and underneath the seat, he pulled out a tool kit. "Why do you have that?" The human's head dipped in exasperation, and he pointed from the tool kit, to the run down motorcycle. "Ah."

Inside of it weren't just sockets, wrenches, or pliers, but screwdrivers, extra wire, and a few other tools that they didn't quite recognize, but Arcee was certain some of it didn't come with the typical kit. The human held out a hand for their device, and Ratchet handed it over. The human attached something small onto it, and took soldering tools to it, the sparks shooting from the device and bouncing off of the human's helmet. Ratchet started giving instructions, watching the human with mild interest as they worked.

At first, Bumblebee's radio began fuzzing, then he beeped a noise of alarm. The human's fingers twitched even though they were protected by gloves. After a couple of minutes, Windblade gasped, along with some of the others, and the human paused.  _"Are you all right?"_

"Yes, I, I think you did it," Windblade said in shock. "How did you-?"

" _I grew up with people who are good with engines, computers, and the like,"_ Data simplified. " _I'm no rocket scientist, but I do know how to patch into certain signals and frequencies. I can stop it if you'd like."_

Windblade nodded, " _Only on missions you're allowed to join us with."_

She had sent it telepathically, wondering if it would work. There was another nod, and the human stood, giving the device to Ratchet. " _So, where do we begin?"_

" _Trust exercises_ ," Bumblebee exclaimed, using something from a human TV show, most likely. It was either that, or something from one of their movies by the sound of it.  _"We want you to trust us, and for us to trust you."_

"... _I'm not giving you my identity,"_ Data said. " _It's not a matter of trust. I have people to protect, and I don't want the Decepticons, or the humans you work with, to get to them."_

"Have you broken any laws?" Optimus asked.

 _"Besides vigilantism, no,"_ he said.  _"Well, and I kind of disfigured a couple of Decepticons, but I'm not sure if that counts."_

"It doesn't," Blurr reassured the human. :Hey, can we pair up first?"

The human stiffened upon seeing his vehicle form, taking a couple of moments to take in the sight of the car before him. _"...Ferrari FXX Evoluzione? With a 6,262.5 cc engine, rear-wheel drive with traction control system and can go 97 miles per hour in 3 seconds or less?! You're a freakin' Ferrari?!"_

"WowandIthoughtIwasafasttalker," Blurr laughed. Hearing one of Bumblebee's favorite "James Bond" actors squeak that was fairly amusing. Data had good taste. Blurr opened his door, "Comeonin!"

The human moved so fast that they didn't even have to blink. Blurr drove then, the human making their modulated voice shriek with glee.

Wheeljack cackled, "I guess the human has a new favorite."

Optimus frowned, but then turned into terror when Ratchet groaned, "Those two put together? This is going to end in disaster."

* * *

 

Both Blurr and Data were cheering, and Blurr could swear by the Allspark that the human  _giggled_. They actually giggled. "SaytheJamesBondlines!"

" _Bond, James Bond,"_ they yelped. " _Shaken, not stirred."_

Blurr pushed up the steering wheel, "Wanttotakethewheel?Thinkofitasatrustexercise!" To his delight, the human  _knew_ how to drive. They could even do J Turns and spins. "You're good at this, like, really good."

Data made sure that they were both safe, and even asked him if he was okay. When he confirmed he was, the human chuckled breathily. _"Now I can see why you're called Blurr. You're not just a fast one, but you're a fast talker too."_

"Thatwasfun!Bythewayhowcanyouunderstandme?!"

 _"I have fast talking family members,"_ the human explained briefly. _"Though I'll admit, every once in a while I do get lost. So, for uh, hearing purposes,  think I'm gonna have to modify my listening device for you too, no offense."_

"Nahthat'sperfectlyfinesoyouwanttogotobasenow?" he said rapidly.

Most humans would get dizzy from how fast he spoke, but so far, this one managed to keep up. It struggled for him to do so, but Blurr slowed down his speech to make it easier for Data to understand. While he may be fast, he was also an intelligence collector, despite some's first misgivings. "Sohow, how do you know about Cybertron?"

There had to be a way that the human knew something. Instead, they laughed a little, " _Actually, there's a lot of gaps in my knowledge. I've heard of Cybertron in passing from you guys mentioning it, but what I know? You're Autobots, you help protect people and have lost a home. The Decepticons either don't care about whether or not they hurt people, and most of what Megatron and his lackeys talk about is power. So...Kind of obvious which side to pick."_

Wait, what? The human coughed then, and from how they turned away from his rear view mirror, along with how they held themself, that Data was embarrassed. _"And I er, I don't know what Energon is. I don't even know where you guys come from."_

Before he could ask what Data meant, the human said, _"Decepticons keep either trying to kill people, or not caring about it. There's also the fact that they practically have 'deceive' in your names. Oh, and I really, really don't like Starscream."_

"Well, the last one definitely makes sense," Blurr wheezed. "So, you really don't know who, or what we are?"

 _"Nope,"_ the human answered softly, thoughtfulness in their tone. It made the Sean Connery in them sound smooth, even if the phrasing was strange for the voice in question. " _But I do know that Optimus and those who are willing to follow him can't be all that bad. After all, for such a big bot, he's got the strength to be gentle, kind, where others do not. It's even in how he speaks."_

And this came from the human that _"yeeted"_ milkshakes at Soundwave last week. Not even Blurr had the pistons to be that brave, or that stupid. Maybe the human was just insane. Yet, the way he perceived Optimus...

"IthinkyouneedtotalktotherestoftheAutobots.We'llfillyouallintogether!"

The human tilted his head, "Er,okay?"

* * *

Blurr was fun, but Maristella knew that he was trying to get her to be more willing to work with the Autobots, or spill some info. She was willing to bet some good money on it.

As for her, she managed to collect some information.

So, these weren't just transforming robots, but  _alien_  transforming robots, from a planet called Cybertron. Energon was basically either blood and/or fuel for cybertronians, which was kind of gross when she really started thinking about it. Wait, did that mean she threw blood in Megatron's face? Ew, no wonder he was so pissed. She would be too.

The Autobots were visibly concerned as she took in all that information. Even Ratchet showed some emotion towards her that wasn't annoyance or anger. "Uh, human?"

 _"Data,"_ she replied automatically, shaking her head. " _Uh, when I expected the possibility of extraterrestrials, I was thinking more along the lines of ET, not giant transforming robots. But, I'm adaptable."_

Yeah, keep trying to tell yourself that. These were aliens, real aliens. The robot thing on its own had already been mind-blowing, but them transforming into cars sent what little intelligence to the stars when she realized it. Now this?! Optimus didn't look convinced, but he stayed quiet as Windblade began telling her about the Decepticons' members, listing off each member and their known abilities.

So far, they were Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave (damn he was scary, she didn't actually mean to throw those milkshakes in his eye, he startled her), Knockout, Breakdown, Airachnid, Shadow Striker, Shockwave, and Slipstream.

Most of them flew, but Knockout and Shockwave were land vehicles. Oh, and so were a lot of the drones. That was good to know. 

"Uh, human?"

Automatically, she recited everything they told her back to them, her brain still processing information. " _And, what are they after?"_

"For some reason, your planet collects various materials from Cybertron," Ratchet humphed. "From Energon, to ancient relics of power, to even the Allspark."

_"Hi, resident idiot, here. What the frag is an AllSpark?"_

See? She was getting their cursing down, although she felt kind of bad about Bee looking so sad about it. Optimus clearly wasn't pleased either. It was Bulkhead who answered her question. "Please, we're 'aliens' to one another, with very different ideas of how things work, and how we live. Of course you're gonna have questions. Doesn't make you stupid."

"... _Thank you, Bulkhead."_

For some reason, his cheeks, er, faceplate glowed a little. Maybe that was a blush of some kind. Did Cybertronians even get sick? Optimus, lovely voice and all, decided to answer her. "The AllSpark is a a cube, capable of giving and taking life from all Cybertronians. It's the object that created our race, and the most powerful members of Cybertronians."

So, the AllSpark was God? " _What happened?"_

"Years ago, Megatron and I battle above the Earth's atmosphere using two ancient relics, the Star Saber and the Cyber Caliber. "

 _"You mean your Light Saber?"_ she blurted out.

Thankfully, the Autobot didn't seem offended, or confused. Instead he smiled, "I have been watching your films called, 'Star Wars' with Bumblebee's aid. Your analogy is close, but neither blade is so simple. They were crafted by the thirteen original Primes, the first and most powerful of the Cybertronian race. Each one had made their own relics, all with unique capabilities."

"The Cyber Caliber was capable of repair or disassemble anything, and in this case-"

Oh shit. " _Megatron shattered the AllSpark?"_

"It was not his intent, but yes," Optimus agreed. "Now, we search the planet not only for lost relics, but also for the remnants of the AllSpark, hoping to restore it so that we may breathe life into Cybertron once more."

So, Megatron broke God.

Maristella held up a finger, silently asking to process that. She had a lot more questions, like if Optimus was one of those 'Thirteen Primes' considering his name. What about their own personal history? Why did Megatron seem to have a personal vendetta against Optimus? And why couldn't any of the Decepticons, with the exception of Knockout, take a joke? Breathing in and out, she clapped her hands together, counting to ten, twice. " _Okie dokie, how can I help?"_

"Besidesyourobviousvoicekink,whywouldyouwantohelp?" Blurr blurted.

"Voice kink?" Optimus whispered to himself.

" _First off, that's not why. Two, don't kinkshame me. Three..."_ Maristella paused, trying to find the right words. " _While not to your extent, I know what it's like to lose a home, and for your people to suffer, wandering around."_

Her voice hitched, recalling how she and her family had struggled finding refuge in the United States. They'd been constantly reminded of the government's ability to send them back to Mexico. The scorching heat, the bureaucratic process, the holding areas...

She remembered all those faces, the places they went, and the ones that didn't return. She remembered how dangerous it had been where they came from. It wasn't all bad, but none could replace the lives lost.

 

 _"And how you do your best to save them, and not always succeeding._ _I've seen death, and I've known life too. I'm not willing to lose the ones I care about, and I'm pretty sure that it's the same for you. So, even if I can't turn back my past, I can help you have a better future than the one you have right now."_

They were all staring and gaping at her, even the big man himself. Huh, was that the most she had ever spoken around them? Well, this was awkward. Checking her watch, she grumbled, " _Sorry, I need to get back to my family. See you guys tomorrow?"_

She had to get back to her parents and brother. Maristella and her brother took care of her parents best they could, but they were always fighting for the right to exist.

"Uh, okay," Windblade said, hoarsely. "Same time?"

Maristella nodded, got on her bike, and drove away fast as she could. God that was bad. She really shouldn't have opened her mouth. After all, what did she really know?

* * *

 

"By the Allspark, I wasn't expecting that," Wheeljack murmured.

"Ididn'teitherthatwassuresomethingwasn'titOptimus?"

Optimus Prime didn't say anything, except for, "Autobots, roll out."

Behind him, the other Autobots began talking about who the human, Data, should have trust exercises with next.

It was agreed that he should take on the Wreckers next, after the femme bots lost a bet.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note(s): Blurr was just making light of what Maristella was saying in her commentary earlier.
> 
> Don't ask about the bet. It didn't turn out pretty.
> 
> Sorry this chapter wasn't as funny as the others. I'll try to do better in the next one.


	6. Chapter 6

"You're not Data anymore, you're Squishy!" Wheeljack exclaimed, punching a boulder.

Maristella flinched a little at how extreme 'Wreckers' were. Their training involved a  _lot_ of punching stuff and blasting other things with those strange arm canons. Thank goodness Bumblebee was there, else she might've gotten hit by some rocks by now. There was only so much her outfit could protect her from. " _Why Squishy?"_

Bumblebee's radio speech beeped. " _I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Squishy. Come on, Squishy. Come on, little Squishy!"_

She slowly turned, and Bee backed away with his hands up as a white flag. The others were laughing at her expense now.  _"I liked Data, he's my favorite character in The Next Generation."_

_"Resistance is futile."_

One of her brother's favorite phrases, so why not? A suitcase-like box was tossed in front of her, and Maristella recognized it. It was the Apex Armor. She wondered which Prime made this relic. Her head tilted up at them in question, and Wheeljack snorted (robots can snort?), "You're decent at fighting kid, but you're still squishy. If you go servo on servo with Decepticons-"

" _What's a servo?"_ Wheeljack arched his version of an eyebrow, pointing to one of his hands. " _Okay, I really need to learn Cybertronian vocabulary, 'cause I can see this becoming either annoying, or dangerous. What happens if one of you gets hurt and need something specific that I don't know the meaning of?"_

Wheeljack and Bulkhead glanced at each other, Bumblebee sliding in front of them. He began pointing at certain body parts, musically. " _Hands, shoulders, knees, and toes. Knees and toes! Eyes and ears and mouth and nose! Hands, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes!"_

Bumblebee made jazz hands then, and turned to Maristella. His voice this time was a conglomeration of the others' words, " _Helm, shoulder pads, joints and pedes, joints and pedes! Helm, shoulder pads, joints and pedes, joints and pedes! Optics and audials, and denta and enstril! Helm, shoulder pads, joints and pedes, joints and pedes! "_

She tried to slap her face, but instead hurt her hand on her helmet. " _Oh, frag this."_

Maristella took off her helmet, revealing a Spider Man mask underneath.

_"Spiderman, Spiderman, does whatever a spider can. Spins a web any size, catches thieves just like flies. Look out, here comes the Spiderman!"_

"Better Spider Man than Airachnid," Bulkhead grumbled. "C'mon kid, out on the armor. Oh, it's called Apex Armor, by the way."

Don't say anything. Don't say anything. She held the box in her hands, still shaken by how it wrapped itself around her at first. Light, should not be able to move like that. Then again giant alien transforming robots weren't exactly conducive to human's knowledge of physics, so just roll with it. She was the Wreckers' heights now, or close enough. Bulkhead pounded his first into his...Servo? Servos? Dude, she was Hispanic and spoke three languages: Spanish, English, and sign language, and they made more sense than this did.

Wheeljack charged at her, and she stood off to the side at the last second, sticking out her, the armor's, leg. She hadn't been expecting him to be so flexible, rolling on the ground like that.  _"You guys do know my ribs are bruised, right? I'm not supposed to push myself too much."_

"Pain is only makes you stronger!"

_"No, it's my biological way of saying not to mess with certain body parts."_

"...Then let's practice fighting style and breaking things."

Ooh, boy.

* * *

 

 "Have fun on your little trip?" Fowler was talking nearby with a man who wore tags labeling him as 'Lennox'. The guy looked more like a soldier instead of an agent. Arcee nearly jumped at the sight of Maristella wearing a Spider Man mask. "What is  _that?"_

Bumblebee began playing the music again, and in the background, she saw Blurr and, who were those two? _"What is this? Who are those?! That's an Edge Pontiac Solstice, and B-King."_

Maristella was starting to understand that all the Autobots had good taste in vehicles. They transformed, and she saw two new Autobots. On was female, the other male. The latter knelt near her, offing his hand. She shook it instinctively. "I am Prowl, and this is Chromia. Who are you?"

_"Well I codenamed myself Data, but apparently I'm 'Squishy' now."_

Chromia and Arcee looked a lot alike. Weird, Windblade didn't look like either of them, so, were these guys related? Wait, they were robots, they couldn't have-? Chromia didn't react to the 'Squishy' comment beyond smirking a little. She offered her hand like Prowl did, and Maristella shook this hand as best she could like she did Prowl. "I'm also Arcee's sister."

There was a long pause. " _Ratchet? I need a lesson in the Cybertronian of the Birds and the Bees!"_

 "Well, how do humans make smaller humans?"

Fowler made choking noises in the background, as though he were being strangled. Lennox chuckled, "Don't worry, I can explain it. Lietenant Commander William Lennox of the the United States Army Rangers. Squishy, is it? Gotta say, hearing James Bond's voice from Spider Man does make quite the impression."

Hesitating, she returned shaking his hand, glad her gloves shielded her in more ways than one.

"I've got a daughter back home. The wife's taking care of her. So, who better to explain how to make babies than me?" How about a woman who may be capable of experiencing labor in the future and was well educated on sex ed? Just maybe? Then again, they all thought she was a guy, so, she couldn't really say that. "Hey, mind being a sport and pretend to be a lady for a few minutes? I need to point out anatomical differences, and visuals made work best here.

She was going to kill a man. By the end of it, the Autobots were strangely calm about it.

"Huh, most people would be disturbed," Lennox commented, gesturing to a groaning Fowler in the background.

Ratchet frowned, "It's strange, but it's a natural process for your kind, is it not? Besides, we've regrettably come across more disturbing ways of mating."

"So, what's happens with you guys when two parents love each other very much?"

Ratchet told them to sit down. "We are originally protoforms, an artificial form constructed from wiring, partially formed circuitry, and metals only found on Cybertron. They are kept in nutrient gels under stasis until a Spark is implanted into them either by the AllSpark, or by two creators interface to combine a portion of each of their Sparks. From there, Sparklings are made to grow into younglings, and then into full fledged Cybertronians."

What about the likeness between Arcee and Chromia? Was there such a thing as being related? As in their version of biologically?

" _And, uh, do siblings exist_?"

"When Sparks split among multiple protoforms," Ratchet stated. "We call them, 'Split Sparks'. Does that satisfy your curiosity, for now?"

Lennox and Maristella turned towards each other, and nodded. "Yep, that'll do for now. Uh, thank you."

"I'll leave you two to intermingle then," Ratchet grumbled. "And no interfacing!"

It took a moment to process that, and Lennox shouted, "I'm married!"

" _And no offense, sir, you're not my type,"_ Maristella shivered. 

"Agreed," Lennox grunted. "...By the way, how did you first end up here, with them, I mean?"

" _I hit Starscream with a car. You?"_

He choked a little at her words. "I was one of the first humans they encountered. I've seen way, way too many explosions. It was like a weird comic book or sci-fi movie. By the way, have you met Agent Simmons yet?"

_"Yeah, we had a dance off once, where I was dressed like Darth Vader. I won."_

"So, you're Darth Vader, James Bond,  _and_ Spider Man?" He took it all in. "Want a dance off? I'm a lot better than Simmons."

_"You're on."_

Hey, maybe some of the humans with the Autobots weren't so bad after all.

* * *

 

"Those two seem to get along well," Chromia commented.

Arcee nudged her sister, "It's a bit strange, considering how vehemently against government humans he seemed earlier. What do you think did it?"

Fowler cleared his throat, "Lennox is a family man, and someone who likes to have fun. Those with known immediate family members, or are caretakers to others, are thought to be more reliable and trustworthy. He also bonded a little by noting things Squishy liked."

He continued watching the soldier talk with the vigilante with narrowed eyes. "I still don't trust him, but they're good at what they do, and they've been on your side as far as we can tell. It'd be a lot easier if he told us who he  _really_ was."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit short this time.


	7. Chapter 7

"So, how did you locate the energon?"

Giant robots were somehow cute and amusing when they were trying to navigate caves. The caverns were too tiny for them, and they had to either duck down or crawl frequently. Maristella had similar wide eyes once upon a time, just as she had their curiosity. She had to keep a grip on the bouquet she brought with her as they climbed and lowered themselves into the right spaces, but she knew the inner land well. She knew how to navigate the area.

" _I grew up in the town nearby, and believe it or not, I used to be quite the introvert. So, at some point I needed to find space for myself, my own little sanctuary. I searched for a special place, and I discovered a whole new world."_

Yes, there was extreme doubt on their faces for the first half of her statement. "Introverts don't normally go cave exploring last time I checked. And, how can you read down here?"

" _From all the fancy glowing crystals. Apparently they're called energon."_   Maristella hummed, " _Did you know that ninety percent of caves around the world are still unexplored? I've been exploring in this place for a little over half my life, and I'm pretty sure I'll never fully discover even a tenths of its secrets within my lifetime. I mean, if I don't die while I'm young. Caves can be dangerous sometimes."_

Arcee frowned, her expression nostalgic. "I know. Some of us got trapped in caves a few times. But you, this comes naturally to you."

Chromia followed closely behind, and Maristella hesitated as she walked to an entrance. " _Some of these places, are more ancient than you can imagine. Some, are even considered holy. So, try not to damage this area too much? The newest energon I found is right on the other side._ "

They both nodded, and Maristella tensed before sticking her hand into a portion of the wall. Grabbing the piece inside, she twisted it, hearing stone shifting. Taking her hand out, she watched as the wall moved, showing a small town made from stone. There were markings along the walls, including writing and hand prints. The houses had pottery in their windows. Stairs led upward in a spiral along walls, where there was a hint of sunlight from a hole in the ceiling. Alcoves still had fire pits, plants still flourished near some of the homes, the domes of the higher grounds shielding the inside from sunlight and possible rain that managed to get through.

Windblade whispered, "What is this place?"

" _Like I said, there's entire worlds here, some forgotten."_ Maristella bit the inside of her cheek at the sight of the towers, where scorch marks decorated its barriers. She wished she could say it was from home fires or some peaceful way of life. But, they were gone now, weren't they. " _I haven't told anyone about this place, because this, this doesn't belong to me. I don't think it belongs to anyone, except for the people who once lived here."_

Chromia carefully picked up a small doll, covered in the desert dust. "But isn't it wasteful to just leave it here?"

Maristella walked down the brick layered road over to one of the homes. Inside, was a resting place. _"It's a place where the dead can rest. I'm not taking that away from anyone, dead or alive. I rarely even come here for my own time. I'm curious, but it doesn't feel right to disturb them."This is_ their _sanctuary."_

The autobots had become silent, but Maristella saw as Chromia laid the doll against the wall filled with presumed children's paintings. She stepped back, clasped her hands, and bowed her head. Arcee did the same, and Maristella, she placed her flowers she carried there. There was a heavy moment of silence before they moved onward. On the other side, were squares of land surrounded by water. Some held corn, others some form of squash. But all around along the cavern walls? There was energon.

 _"I think the people who lived here used it for light,"_ Maristella confided.

"It feels peaceful here," Arcee murmured, a tightness in her lips. "I've never felt conflicted about taking energon before."

Maristella found herself surprised by the admission, but inclined her head. " _Personally I wouldn't, but I'm not the one in need. Although, from what I've seen of the ruins, whoever lived here, they were a peaceful people that traded, and from others they were kind. These people may be lost to the ages, but I doubt they'd be okay with another being destroyed through genocide...I also know a few more places, however you did ask for the biggest energon cluster I've seen."_

 _"_ We're not taking this," Chromia stated, looking at her sister and Windblade. "It'd be like stealing from those lost on Cybertron. It wouldn't be right."

And so, that was the first time that the Autobots had not mined energon from stone. However, they were pleased with the other caverns that Maristella led them to. Those places weren't homes to take away. Throughout the evening, Maristella showed them more worlds to see, and it was hard to erase the beauty within their minds.

Windblade surmised, that maybe the human wasn't so bad after all, even with the lack of fashion sense.

* * *

"So, you're a robot ninja?"

Prowl smirked, "Something like that."

" _...Transforming powered ninja robot,_ " Squishy began singing. Prowl had offered a few names to all groups, but Squishy seemed to work the best in this case. At least until they found another. " _Transforming powered ninja robot. Transforming powered ninja robot. Heroes in disguise, robot power!_ "

Bumblebee and Lennox had been making music behind Squishy, and Prowl wondered it it was some kind of parody from human entertainment. Squishy turned to looked at Lennox, and he held up his hands. "What? It was my favorite TV show growing up. Hey, my favorite is Michelangelo. What about you?"

" _Donatello."_

He smirked, "Are you good with a bo staff?"

_"I don't know, I've always wanted to try it though."_

While the other members of the Autobots, with the exception of Bumblebee and Blurr, seemed confused. They didn't find out till the next day that Lennox had been serious with his question. "It's a toothpick bo, for beginners. It's also my first one. I'm trained in mixed martial arts with multiple weaponry. Prowl, want to join in? I think you'd be interested since 'ninjas' used to use this kind of thing."

Prowl agreed, watching from the sidelines as the humans sparred against one another. While Squishy lacked the proper movements, they understood their body's limits, and followed Lennox's instructions closely. The way they handled the staff every once in a while, reminded him of those sports shows on television. Namely, baseball, perhaps a little bit of hockey. Whenever he swung, it was with experience. To try something out, Prowl tossed a small rock towards Squishy. It wouldn't harm them, considering all of the protective clothing they wore, so they would be safe even if they didn't see it.

That's when the human didn't even look, but appeared to sense the stone, twisting and hitting it, the crack of it echoing near them despite the expanse of desert. It slammed into Lennox, who thankfully wore his own body armor. But, the padding had a dent in it right on his chest. Squishy froze, realizing what they did, " _I'm-"_

 _"_ That was great!" Lennox congratulated, offering his hand. Squishy slowly shook it, confused. "Do you play sports?"

They hesitated, _"A few. Baseball was one of them."_

Prowl tilted his head, looking as innocent as he could.  Yet, it was as if the human could see through him, even with the headgear on. So, what personality was he seeing? Darth Vader? Spiderman? James Bond? This person had a reason for picking each one. Each piece of clothing had some meaning behind it, whether or not the human knew it themself. Was Darth Vader the more brutal part of the human, the kind that had destroyed the Decepticons' forces and physically crippled them in one way or another? Was Spiderman the amusing, snarky side, the one with a sense of justice? Was James Bond the more charming side, the one willing to get things done with little regards to the cost? Prowl could see all of them in the human, but there was still little known about their disguised friend.

Then again, from what Arcee and Chromia had told him, there were depths to the human that not all masks could hide.

* * *

 

 Ratchet thought that with all the smack talk he'd heard about this human, that they would be the most annoying kind of their people. He expected a human that would mess around, he expected loudness, he expected foolishness. He had come to know those traits well from all humans, from Sam Witwicky, to Marissa Faireborn, to the agents he worked with, and more. Though he had never met the human, he had also heard of a human named Charlie that Bumblebee had formed a bond with. Even Lennox got on his nerves sometimes from how much he babbled over offspring. Yes, Ratchet expected the chaotic kind of human that would ruin his day.

Instead, he got a resourceful on that rarely interacted with him upon his saying that they should. It was a little annoying though, how they could squeeze, or "squish" into places most humans couldn't. He suspected it had something to do with their cave exploring.

That in itself was an unusual hobby, and one would think by now that human's government would have figured out who they were by now. To climb those caves required time, yet according to the officials, everyone had some kind of alibi. Did that mean the human wasn't a resident there? It wouldn't surprise him, seeing how much they seemed to know about the caverns. And if they grew up their, where were the humans' guardians when they were younger? Had they simply not noticed? Did the human not have any?

Every time he saw them, there were more questions on his mind than there were answers to process. How can you truly trust someone when they always wore a disguise?

Wait, he was reacting just as the humans had when the Autobots first arrived on Earth. The Autobots were distrusted until the humans needed help from Decepticons killing their people. All Ratchet could think about at the time, besides being extremely annoyed with them, was how understandable it was.

Oh, the poetic irony of the situation was going to kill him. So, this is what it felt like to be on the other side. What was it the humans called it, 'Karma'?

Scrap.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where a member of Maristella's family may or may not unknowingly have a crush on a talking car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was put in after Chapter 30 had been posted. Most of this story I wrote when I was half asleep, so a lot of details and character development had been left out.
> 
> The story still needs some work, but I figured I should flesh some parts out more.

_**"I'm off!"** _

Maristella bent down and kissed her parents on the cheeks, waving to her brother before leaving. As the door closed, her parents began chatting, " _ **Do you think she found someone?"**_

Elios, Maristella's older brother, tried not to choke on his horchata. He wasn't totally against his sister finding a partner, but the idea that she hadn't told them? " _ **What makes you say that?"**_

_**"She's always sneaking off and being vague about her day."** _

Most might assume with their ethnicity that they were up to drugs or something. His sister though? She was a bit of a mischief maker when she was younger, but after what happened back in the family plaza, she seemed to have lost that spark. A lot of them did. " _ **She's probably off in the caves again, Mama."**_

_**"I know, I used to worry because it's so dangerous, but she knows how to navigate it like the back of her hand."** _

The only reason their parents believed that was because of the pictures sent, making it seem mild-mannered in appearance. Truth was, those were stock photos and from what Elios had seen? It was far more dangerous than anyone thought. The only way Elios could conceive her being able to do what she did was because of her size. His teeny tiny sister was fairly spry. 

Both siblings somewhat defied the stereotypes that were placed on the Hispanic population. For instance, lots of people thought the two were supposed to be unintelligent, lazy, aggressive, uneducated, and usually depicted as criminals. Even more so, people said that the Hispanic population stole jobs, and/or were rapists. Both siblings somewhat subverted such stereotypes. Maristella was a librarian that adored books, learning, and generally did her best wherever she went. Elios was a mechanic, which was honestly somewhat stereotypical, but he was an immigrant, and immigrants got the job done. Tourists, rare they be, tended to ask multiple times if there was another mechanic in town. Elios wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, but it may have to do with how he dressed with sleeveless shirts, had tattoos, and was a bit tall. That, and sometimes he cursed when he hit or cut himself on accident. But, all kinds of people do that, no matter what they are or where they come from.

So, maybe that was why he wasn't too bothered when a massively scratched up and dented car appeared at the workshop. It was an Aston Martin, the kind of car that James Bond would ride in, if it wasn't in such need of help. Then again, the spy tended to damage his cars, a lot. In any case, this was still a stylish vehicle, even if it looked like it had been through Hell. Still, it was obvious it hadn't been the owner's fault, going by the markings.

Elios held his chin in thought. "Paint and wax?"

There was a deep rumble from the vehicle before a voice that was very pleasing to the ear drawled, "A buffering, too. Can you handle that?"

Elios arched a brow, taking out the equipment. Most would step out of the vehicle, but this wasn't the first customer that thought Elios would do something if not watched. "Frankly, I don't think anyone should  _handle_ such a fine machine, but I do my best to treat them right."

Handling was rarely ever a good word to use. To handle something was just to grab something or get something done and over with. So, no, Elios wouldn't  _handle_ such a fine piece of art. Instead, he got the best tools he could and was careful as he fulfilled his duties. When he was done, he did an extra cleaning for the windows. At the end of it, the vehicle almost looked brand new.

Elios clucked his tongue, "Whoever did this to such a beautiful piece of art needs their butt whooped." Realizing what he said out loud, he flushed. "Er, sorry about the language."

"It's, thank you," the person from within said. "How much do I owe you?"

Frankly, for this kind of car, with all its supplies, he should have the owner pay him a large amount, but instead...

"A dollar," Elios said, picking up some extra polish. "Here, as a gift."

He got an unopened jug, and put it next to the car door, turning his back as he put away the rest of his equipment. That kind of thing tended to let car owners feel more comfortable, more in control when he wasn't facing them. Sure enough, the door opened and somebody took the container, closing it when they were done. In its place was a five dollar bill.

Elios went to make the change when the stranger asked, "Why?"

Elios shrugged, "The thing is, I tend to charge people more based on how well they've taken care of their stuff. The more they trash it, the more they pay so that they're less likely to do that in the future. You actually take care of your car, so I'm betting coming to see me was a one time thing." He finally turned around, unable to stop his smile. "It's nice, to see someone with brains and a sense of dignity."

The person was very, very silent. Then, they drove off, not even giving Elios the chance to give him the change. Elios figured he shouldn't have been surprised. The only people who tended to stick around were the people from the town, or those who wanted to reduce the price for repairs. So, imagine how surprised he was when the Aston Martin reappeared less than a month later, with the faintest of scratches and a tiny dent. It was the kind of repair he was sure this car owner could easily repair based on what he'd seen, but for some reason didn't. When he was done with the repairs, the owner asked again how much was owed, and Elios shook his head, saying that nothing was owed. 

So, again and again it happened, each time with Elios trying to give him the four dollars in change back to him to no avail. Worse yet, there was always a five dollar bill after each repair that Elios didn't ask for. And so on it went, with every visit growing pieces of dialogue and conversation. Somehow, it all evolved into advice for movies and television shows to watch, books, and more. They even talked about problems at home, if only in the vaguest of terms. Yeah, the guy was a bit narcissistic, but he was funny, sweet, and felt nice to talk to. Elios had always been the cautious one in his family, the one looking out for his younger relatives, especially his sister, but this person made him feel like everything was a thrill, in a good way. He even met the siblings' father at some point, though briefly.

Though, at some point, things started to shift. The mysterious Aston Martin owner came even when there was nothing wrong with the car. Elios wondered if the guy was looking for more than friendship at some point, but figured he wouldn't ask or push for anything. Instead, he would keep the company for as long as the other person wanted him.

* * *

 

What in the world was he thinking? This human couldn't be real, they couldn't possibly exist. They were too, nice. Even when Knockout had passed by him a few times when driving, the guy was always smiling and speaking in soft, kind tones. He reminded Knockout of those film actors who were the heroes and saviors, but also the ones who spoke with heart. The guy was passionate, polite, and could keep up with him.

The first time he came, it was primarily because he was out of polish and needed assistance after a major fiasco. The human only charged him a dollar, and Knockout  _knew_ what the cost range should have been according the the humans' methods of connecting and communicating. The man barely had clothes on his back, and was nearly almost always producing fluids due to the heat and labor he put in. Normally it'd be disgusting, but in this case all that sweat and grime reminded Knockout of some of the few good bots he'd known. Primarily, the human reminded him of Breakdown in some ways, but less blunt or destructive.

The human had the hands of a surgeon, and knew what he was doing.

And that smile? Evil, pure evil.

This was all so wrong, coming and seeing the human again and again. He always gave himself reasons over some dents or scratches or just a new paintjob. Then, he forgot what he was coming for one day. Oh right, it was him, Elios, the human that shone like the sun.

Scrap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, this family is really into talking vehicles, and most don't even know it.


	9. Chapter 9

" _Attercop! Attercop! "_ Maristella laughed loudly, screaming on the inside as she ran for her miserable life from Airachnid. _"Old fat spider spinning in a tree! Old fat spider can’t see me!"_

Yeah, the giant transforming spider robot was a real piece of work, and a lot faster than Maristella thought she'd be.

"YOU ARE DEAD HUMAN! I WILL TEAR YOUR BONES FROM YOUR BODY, SHOVE THEM UP YOUR-!"

_"Here am I, naughty little fly, you are fat and lazy. You cannot trap me, though you try, in your cobwebs crazy."_

Her voice cracked a little as she screeched, really regretting provoking a Decepticon that could spit up  _acid_ of all things. Oh, and she was a sadistic one at that. Normally Maristella would quip 'kinky', but this was not the kind of BDSM that she wanted. It was a little too rough for her.

"I'M GOING TO FLAIL YOU ALIVE YOU LITTLE INSECT!"

_"You're the insect! You've only got six legs, hypocrite!"_

"Found you."

Maristella did the only rational thing she could in that moment...She used her Spiderman gauntlets to shoot fake webbing into Airachnid's optics. " _THWIP THWIP, BITCH!_ "

While the Decepticon was blinded, Maristella  kicked her head, which was probably one of the stupidest things she'd ever done considering that CYBERTRONIANS WERE FREAKIN' MADE OF METAL!!! But, at least it made the Decepticon's sensor's confused for a moment. That's when Maristella took out the gun that Lennox gave her, and shot the Decepticon in the audio receptors. Airachnid screamed, and Maristella ran for her puny little life, knowing she wasn't able to kill any Cybertronian, even when they're down. They were tougher than they looked, even when you thought you had them pinned.

"YOU ARE DEAD!"

Too bad Airachnid couldn't hear Maristella at the moment, 'cause she shouted a few choice words right back. Thankfully Arcee arrived, and Prowl with her.

Arcee transformed into her more humanoid form, and Prowl remained in his vehicular one. "Squishy, what on Earth did you do to anger her that badly?"

 _"Acted like my normal, beautiful self?"_ She offered, chuckling nervously at the Autobots' hard stare.Sometimes it felt like she was acting more like her cousin Ofelia than herself. The girl had sadistic and possibly masochistic streak in her. Was it really okay to be this reckless? _"Okay, I may have insulted her using book quotes, which may or may not include calling her an old, fat, and crazy spider. And when she called me an insect, I pointed out her anatomical likeness was more similar to one, and I uh..."_ Prowl inclined his head, Arcee already looking like she was in pain. Maristella shifted her feet around, _"I uh, blinded her with Spideywebs and shot her audio receptors, so she's either blind and deaf, or at the very least deaf."_

There was another cry of outrage, and Maristella was glad for her mask. _"There were some other insinuations I may have made, but I think those didn't piss her off as much as those last tidbits."_

"So, you blow up Starscream, you flip off Megatron, and you just insulted Airachnid in multiple ways, and blinded her."

 _"One, you're forgetting Breakdown, and two, give me some more credit, I insulted_ all _of them."_

Arcee's lights flickered, "I swear this human has a death wish. Okay, I'll go deal with Airachnid."

Prowl offered to come as backup, and when Arcee shook her head, saying someone needed to watch over the suicidal human, a rumble sounded, lights from another vehicle appearing. It was Ratchet. "I'll take them. You two catch her."

His back opened, and there were surprisingly all the tools needed to treat injuries. Maristella paused before getting on, staying quiet. Ratchet had said before that he didn't like interacting with humans in general, so this was a bit strange. Inside, she reached for a first aid kit, first tending to her hands, bandaging them accordingly, and making sure to touch the objects around her with gloves only.

The humming of the engine was calming, and reminded her of home.

"Are you all right?"

" _I've had worse. Are the others going to be okay?"_

He was silent for a few moments. "They've been fighting for nearly all their lives, just as I think you have. They've got this."

That didn't answer the question, but she suspected that she wasn't going to get more out of him. Remembering why she was fighting Airachnid in the first place, she reached into her pocket. " _Airachnid was obsessed with getting this. It looks like a shard of something. Is it part of the AllSpark?"_

She still couldn't believe that Megatron broke God. Well, their God.

Ratchet grumbled, "I can't see the inside of the back compartment. Can you lean near the front? There's a small window there."

He, couldn't see her? Tentative, she did as he asked, showing him the stone. He hissed then, "Your head, you're bleeding through your mask."

Shit. " _I'll be fine. Like you said, I've been fighting all my life. I've got this."_

How would her family react to how Maristella really was, instead of the child that always hid herself away? Well, she didn't always do that, but in their eyes, she was always just, shy, and quiet. That's why she was able to do it so well with Ratchet. Being around him, was like her normal everyday life. He even reminded her of her father and grandfather, grumpy but soft. She didn't mind pretending. She wasn't afraid to.

"...I can't see in the back," Ratchet uttered. "And I clean it out frequently, so no need if you,  _spill_ something."

Yep, he really was like some of the males in her family. Stubborn, grouchy, but kind in his own way. It was rather endearing. " _You're really okay with my squishy stuff back here?"_

It was a question phrased as a joke, and she thought she heard a huff of a laugh. "You're not the first one in here. Lennox and Fowler got hurt more than a few times. There's a reason I'm in this form, and it's not just for Autobots."

She blinked, then leaned forward to place the fragment of the stone on his seat. Carefully, she sat back, clenching her fists in her lap. " _...I have to take off my equipment to take care of this. I'm going to try to stay quiet, but if you do hear something, don't tell anyone?"_

The window near the front darkened somehow, tinting itself, as did the ones in the back doors. Slowly, she removed her Spiderman mask, grabbing the first aid kit. Head wounds were a nasty business, especially the ones made from blows to the skull. She couldn't help but hiss as she cleaned it, her tears dripping onto the floor. Ratchet called for 'Squishy' worriedly. It was the first time he'd ever called her by her nickname. It almost tempted her into saying her real one, to let down her guard.

She just patted the side of the wall, and finished what she needed to do. One learned to deal with a lot of injuries when people judged you for things outside of your control.

Arriving at the Autobot base, she glanced up to see Optimus. There was a frown, and he turned to Ratchet for an explanation. Ratchet held up the shard of the Allspark. "Squishy took this from Airachnid."

"We must find out how they're locating these before we do," Optimus concurred. "And...'Squishy', needs further medical attention."

Hearing the big boss say that? Maristella hated her codename before, but now she liked it immensely. Similar to a toddler, she wanted him to say more words that he wasn't used to saying. For example, "blechy", "cattywampus", "taradiddle", or even "bannana".

And before you ask, she didn't  _actually_ have a voice kink, she just liked voices and sounds that were calming. They reminded her of home. But, she couldn't tell any of them that in detail, so voice kink it was then...Although, what would it sound like if he sang a lullaby? Read a book out loud? Or dare she think, even flirted. Wait, how do Cybertronians flirt? She could somehow imagine him being so awkward that she snickered a little.

"Squishy, is there something amiss?"

Oh God, just the way he said it. " _I'm sorry, it was weird enough hearing the nickname from the others, but_ you? _You just sound so uncomfortable saying it. I'd say I'm regretting getting it at all, but, it's nice to see you not so stiff."_

"...I shall endeavor to be more comfortable then, and to expand my vocabulary."

Staring up at him, she said, "Y _ou don't need to change anything about yourself, Optimus. I just need to get used to it."_ Optimus was already asking Lennox to be sent a more diverse human thesaurus. Oh boy. She sighed, " _Ratchet, there's no changing his mind, is there?"_

"He's a stubborn piece of work, that's for sure." The medic coughed then (since when could robots cough?), clearing his throat. "He's the only one of us you haven't spent time with. He may be trying to find a way for you to like him, and not because others want him to."

AKA, he wasn't doing it because the government wanted to use him to find out her identity. But, she normally did things that she doubted Optimus would be comfortable with. Such as, insulting people, referencing things, pissing others off. Ratchet whispered, "You could show him caves? Or a book or two? He used to be a librarian before the war."

The guy who stood over everyone else, who wielded dual blades, and constantly carried an aura of "Don't fuck with me" in possibly the nicest ways possible, was a librarian?!

"Er, well, technically he was a records keeper."

That was even worse. Her mind tried to fill in gaps where she could imagine the guy walking around, pushing carts, mumbling under his breath about little things of his tasks, and reading stories to kids. The last one, made it not so unbelievable.

 _"Books, huh?"_ Walking over to her own bike, she picked out a bag from the back seat. " _Any specific kinds?"_

Inside, she had three books: _The Hobbit_ , _Myths and Legends From Around The World_ , and _Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software_. Her cheeks flushed at the last one, and she didn't quite meet Ratchet's eyes, er, optics. Thank goodness she was wearing a mask.

"Why don't you go and see?"

Glancing between Optimus and her books, she walked over, and she and Optimus began talking about books, or worlds beyond their own, and of little things.

If she thought his voice, and slight awkwardness was nice, that smile of his had blown the rest all away. Maristella told herself if nothing else, she was going to do her best to see that expression again.

...What will she do when she got hurt again?

* * *

 

_**"Maristella, are you okay?"*** _

His sister smiled gently, her best kind of poker face. He wished he knew what was going on in her mind, which usually spoke more than she did sometimes. He worried that she was scared of living, sometimes. He just, wanted her to be safe, to be happy. Her constant disappearances lately? They concerned him. He wished more would notice when she did that, but he wasn't going to report her, not with those agents going about everyday. Even if they were legal now, he'd heard horror stories of others with situations like theirs.

_**"Of course I am, Elios. I'm happy. I found someone who likes books almost as much as I do."** _

Oh? Elios placed his hands on his hips, smirking, " _ **Should I meet this person?"**_

She rolled her eyes at him, " _ **It's not like that. He's normally very quiet, but he has a kind soul. I also highly doubt he'd be interested."**_

Tapping his fingers rhythmically on the banister, Elios narrowed his eyes. " _ **How are you so sure?"**_

She snorted then, as though tempted to say something. Elios had missed that side of her, the hint of her not being so closed off from the world. He missed-

_**"Let's just say he's not interested in girls, in general."** _

"...Ah," Elios said, awkwardly. He turned solemn then. _**"Can we talk upstairs?"**_

She agreed, and they sat on the bunch in the space on the second floor. It was a pleasant little alcove, meant for reading and, she had a book out, again. 

 _ **"Maristella, the government police are looking for a criminal."**_ Her fingers visibly tightened around the book in her hands. Did she know something? His sister had always been a terrible liar. " _ **I don't want them taking you. I've been making up excuses whenever I can't find you, but I don't want you to do anything foolish."**_

His younger sister had a bittersweet expression. She was torn by something. She couldn't lie or keep secrets to save her life.

" _ **Elios?"**_

" _ **Yes?"**_

She had closed the book, and Elios knew that anyone saw her without a book, or one not opened before her eyes, that there was something seriously wrong going on.

" _ **Can I trust you to keep a secret? Even from our parents, our grandparents?"**_

Secrets? His little sister didn't keep secrets, especially from their grandparents. Their grandmother would kill them both and have their grandfather dig their graves. Elios held up a finger for a second, and got a cross from the bookshelf. " _ **Ready."**_ Maristella glared, and he scooted back a little. " _ **I promise not to tell. God knows how many secrets I've kept for you."**_

How bad could it be? Surely not as bad as that time she accidently put tie dye in the swimming pool? Everyone's hair and clothes had been ruined. Ofelia had been especially pissed at the idea of her hair turning a blondish hue mixed with greens and blues. Bleach and dye really don't go together.

_**"It's going to sound crazy-"** _

_**"Most of your ideas do."** _

There was a long pause, and she looked like she wanted to hold the cross instead. He offered it, and she took it. Okay, this had to be serious. She muttered a small prayer, and turned to him.

_**"I fight giant, alien robots that can transform into vehicles and that may or may not want to destroy the world."** _

"...What?" he asked, startled so much that he began speaking in English.

_**"Oh, and they're looking for something like the Infinity Stones too."** _

Had his sister finally gone off the deep end? "Uh, is this a plot from a book? Are you writing something?"

She took out her camera then. Um, she wasn't lying. And, was she wearing his old motorcycle outfit?! Oh God, the description the agents kept giving. "Explanation, for  _everything_. Now."

And so came one of the biggest, most life changing nights, in Elios Milagros' life. By the end of it, he shook his head, and  _absolutely_ did NOT faint. Really.

 

Haha, nope!

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I don't speak Spanish and I won't even try to pretend that I do.
> 
> I also figured we should get the POV of someone within her human life. I'm trying not to use too many other OCs since I don't want them to overwhelm the rest of the story.


	10. Chapter 10

Elios had taken things pretty well, all things considering. He fainted, but he only did so once. Thank goodness their parents weren't home.

Looking at the cross in her hands, she breathed. There was only so much you could tell a stranger, or anyone from your church. Not only was it a nearly insane thing to tell, but if the authorities got involved, would their parents be able to take it? Would the rest of her family?

After that, he insisted that if he couldn't come, that he'd give her better protection, including a retired bullet-proof that someone dumped with one of the old police cars to be scrapped. He also modified her helmet, to better cushion her skull. More padding went to her limbs, and she had to practice moving in all of it. Oh, and he fixed up her bike too.

" _ **There, now you're like Batman, but safer."**_

"Does that make you Robin?" she teased.

He glowered, " _ **I'd be Alfred at worst. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not the one going out in leather or tights."**_ Most wouldn't be accepting of this kind of thing, but Maristella's older brother, he had heard of some crazy stuff. Maybe none of it was this crazy, but still crazy. Elios hugged her then, wishing her luck.  _ **"I'll keep your cover. Now, go save the world."**_

They didn't know it at the time, but a couple of weeks later, she got hurt to the point she needed to be bedridden. They both said she'd been trying to ride Elios' motorcycle, and gave herself more than a few boo boos. That's when there was a loud explosion in the distance.

_**"Elios, I can't leave them like this."** _

He grimaced, " _ **They don't know your real identity, and we've got similar fighting styles. You've taught me a bit with that Bo Staff, so maybe I can-"**_

" _ **You'd have to insult the Decepticons."**_

"...Excuse me?"

_**"To be like me, you have to use insults and troll the Decepticons."** _

Elios pursed his lips, slowly nodding his head. " _ **...Okay. I'll uh, I'll try ."**_

She squeezed his hand. " _ **Elios, stay safe."**_

" _ **And you heal up,"**_ he ordered.  _ **"I'll see you soon."**_

As he walked out the door, she said, " _ **You'd better. I can't lose you too."**_

Hugging her gently, he murmured, " _ **You won't."**_

Whelp, time to be an idiot.

* * *

 

Getting to the fight in one of the nearby woods, Elios gulped. In the distance, were giant, alien, robots. Cracking his knuckles, he sought to find the safest route to get the Infinity Stone, er, AllSpark Shard? One of the Decepticons transformed into a car.  On the lookout for the flying bad guys, he followed it (he, them?) on foot, wishing he'd been on the track team like Maristella had been. 

However, he had seen a lot more action movies,  _and_ knew the structure of cars and motorcycles by heart. He ran up to the vehicle, broke the glass with his best emergency hammer, and jumped it. The drone began beeping,screeching, but it stopped once Elios hotwired it, taking over the controls. Then, he drove like hell to one of the meetup points away from the base.

What were the Autobots' names again? Oh, Maristella talked about Arcee, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime, a lot. " _Squishy -"_ Why did she get that codename out of everything? " _To Bumblebee, I got the package..._ _and a Decepticon."_

There was a lot of whirring on the other side, but from how it sounded tone-wise, the robot sounded worried. " _I've got an AllSpark Shard and SHIT!!!"_

One hundred feet away from his car, was some creepy giant robot with really, really sharp teeth and red eyes. Oh God, it was a demon shark alien transforming robot! And Elios could not believe what his mind just said. Swerving the car, he picked up the AllSpark Shard, and stuffed it in a bag within his coat. He grimaced at recalling that one of his cousins filled his handy bag with dirt, but it just may come in handy.. Opening the car door, he made sure the pedal was shoved down. And...The demon shark alien transforming robot turned into a jet, because of course!

Elios kind of felt bad when the car crashed into a tree, wincing, but he had other priorities at the moment. "We meet again human"

Quick, what would Maristella do? He got a really, really stupid idea. Clearing his throat, in the great Sean Connery's voice, he said. " _Badum._ "

"I am not putting up with your-!"

" _Badum,"_ Elios said again, stepping back a little, and starting to get into a running position. _"Badum. BadumbadumbadumBADUMBADUM!!!"_ The last part he screeched at the top of his lungs, and tossed his window breaker at the Decepticons' teeth. It slammed into that with a loud clatter. Too bad the big guy's teeth weren't made of glass. While the big guy was still mildly disoriented, Elios yelped, " _Optimus!"_

The robot actually looked behind him, searching for a fight. When he turned around, Elios had already disappeared. Elios panted, being glad that he knew  how to climb trees, and that people in general rarely looked above their heads when searching for something. The giant shark passed from underneath him (yeah, the Jaws theme definitely fit this asshole),  and Elios thought he was in the clear-

"Hello, little fly."

Oh shit. He jumped down before the spider lady could snatch him. As he ran, he called out, " _Whoop whoop whoop whoop!"_

Futurama had its perks. But who in their right mind would intentionally piss these guys off? He cried on the inside, terrified. His sister was nuts. His sister was nuts! HIS SISTER WAS NUTS AND BANANNAS!

A large number of Decepticons were furious, chasing him with hatred and annoyance. Elios was terrified when he saw other robots appear, but sighed a breath of relief once he recognized the symbols. It was the Autobots, AllSpark be praised. Getting closer to the Autobots, he called out to the Decepticons, " _I've got a bag of dirt! I've got a bag of dirt! And guess what's inside it!"_

Was this how Maristella did it? Oh shitty shit shit, those guys were pissed. A blue motorcycle revved next to him, and he jumped on while the rest of the Autobots started fighting. Seeing them transform, was so cool.

"How insane are you, Squishy?"

" _Fairly,"_ he said automatically, thinking of his sister. " _Thanks for saving me back there."_

He was talking to a motorcycle. Not that he didn't usually, but this one talked back. Everything, everything was true.

A compartment opened in the motorcycle's side bag. He slipped in the bag of dirt. "What, I thought you had an AllSpark Shard? Why do you have a bag of dirt?"

He grinned, and in a singsong voice said, " _And guess what's inside it."_

"You, are one of the most stubborn and irritating beings I've ever met." He deflated a little bit, worried about his sister. "But, also one of the kindest and most thoughtful. Thank you."

He brightened, but the his posture slackened, knowing that he wasn't Maristella. Maybe, he should tell this one at the very least. " _Can, can I be honest about something?"_

"Mind if I ask first?"

_"Sure."_

"Are you sick or something? Maybe angry?"

Huh? " _No, why?"_

"You called Bee by his full name. And you never say things so professionally. Did something happen?"

Elios tensed. On one hand he was glad these people knew and cared about his sister's well being. On the other..." _That's, kind of related to the secret thing. You see, I'm a, not your Squishy. They're, they got hurt pretty badly last time.I'm only doing this one time, because I'm really not cut out for this. It's almost miraculous that they are in the first place."_

The motorcycle stopped, likely processing his words. "And, where is our Squishy now?"

" _Healing. They need rest though. And I think they want you guys to stay safe. They've kept knowledge about you guys from the rest of our family and friends, but as for me? I'm not entirely sure why they trusted me with this. Oh, you're Arcee, right? The one with the gun blasters?"_

"Yes," the Autobot said slowly. "How do I know that Squishy is okay?"

Elios grumbled, " _I really don't understand why they have that nickname."_ Arcee snorted (robots could snort?) . " _But, my sibling likes books, to the point where they would disappear into places and would be covered with dirt. They were always scared to play baseball with the rest of the family, terrified of getting hit with the ball. The only sport they did well in for a long time was Track and...I gave her my gear, and we both loved Spiderman and James Bond, because they could make the impossible possible."_

The motorcycle began driving again, and back to his own motorcycle. "Stay safe, human."

He blinked, then inclined his head. " _Thanks for watching out for them."_


	11. Chapter 11

Digging out some Energon within the caves was always an interesting experience.

By now, some of the smaller Autobots (too bad Optimus couldn't come and neither could the Wreckers, since they'd probably break something in there), where you had completely different mixtures of personalities. For instance, you had the excitable Bumblebee and Blurr, both who were traveling in and out of the cavern. Then there was Prowl, searching the area for any Energon that Maristella hadn't noticed before. The sisters, Arcee and Chromia, were up on a ledge with her, digging. Windblade was outside with Ratchet and Optimus to carry all of the energon back to base. All of them had to be careful, so that they wouldn't have the place ome toppling down on them. She had even marked areas they shouldn't go near.

While the others chatted merrily, Maristella noticed that Arcee had been oddly quiet around her, only paying attention to Chromia. Elios had told her what happened, and what he had told Arcee. After doing her best not to scream at him, she had expected for the Autobots to have said something, but all of them, except for Arcee, acted as though everything were normal. Other than what was happening with Arcee, things were peaceful, which is exactly why something had to happen.

"STARSCREAM!"

All the Autobots got into battle mode, and Arcee picked Maristella up, intending to escape with her. A cannon sounded off, and the entrance collapsed, as did the floor below them. Arcee huddled around her, trying to protect the human from the fall. To Maristella's horror, she saw some of the Autobots fighting above, and some of the others falling, all of them in different places. They landed with a crash, and Maristella found herself grateful there was only some minor bruising. To her shock, Arcee had leapt up, patting her. 

"Are you alright?!"

Maristella lowered the robotic digits from her body. "I'm good. Thanks."

Something was off. Arcee was staring, and Maristella slowly took her speaker from her helmet, seeing that it had been josteled enough for a loose portion to snap. Which meant...

"Scrap."

* * *

 

Blurr ran, dodging Starscream's fire. "AnyoneseeSquishyandArcee?!"

Chromia's optics widened, and she began frantically searching for her sister. "Arcee!"

No answer came except for the Decepticons attack.One particular drone seemed hellbent on attacking Starscream. Bumblebee beeped anxiously, then glared at Starscream's annoying screeches. Gestruing at the Decepticon, Blurr and Chromia shrugged. "Megatron can have him."

"AUTOBOTS! HELP!"

"Go frag yourself!" Blurr called, paying special care to how he enunciated the words.

In their minds, they could hear Winblade's voice. " _Optimus is going to blast the entrance to move the rubble. Steer clear in 3,2,1."_

Coordinating their positions,  the Autobots moved out of the way, satisfied that some of the Decepticons were taken out during it. Megatron was growling and seething at Starscream, "I'm going to kill you like I will that human! You've both been a scraplet in my side for far too long!"

"Idon'tthinkSquishywouldlikebeinggroupedwithStarscream."

"PRIME!"

Optimus looked around for said human, "Locate, Squishy, Arcee, and Prowl. I will take care of Megatron."

The two giants raced forward. Chromia transformed, driving down a slope, and Blurr punched Starscream repeatedly at speeds difficult to match. The Decepticon fell, and Blurr mock saluted the Decepticons. "He'sallyours!"

"Blurr," Optimus grunted. "We don't-"

"Ohcomeonbossbot!Everybodyhatestheguy!" Optimus gave a stern glare, and Blurr sighed, picking up and twirling the Decepticon over his head, throwing him outside where Ratchet and the Wreckers were. "Bythewaybossbotthefloorhereisn'tstablesocouldyoutakeyourbigbattleoutside?"

Megatron scowled, "Your little soldier makes an excellent point. Here, let me help you find the way out."

He slammed against Optimus, tires and heels screeching as they went. Blurr watched momentarily to see Optimus take out his blades, then ran down the slope inside.

"Ihopeeveryone'sokay."

* * *

 

"So, you're a femme."

Maristella didn't say anything, instead focusing on the multiple pathways around the cave. Everything was connected in this place, unlike some caves. 

"I know you can hear me,  _Squishy,"_ Arcee growled. Then, her tone softened. "I won't go looking for you. Please, I know the other human covered for you and, looking back, handling all of those Decepticons  _and_ getting the Allspark shard may not have been plausible. Your sibling, helped. But, I'm worried about if you're okay or not more than anything."

"...I've sent you a note before when I couldn't make it," Maristella reluctantly said, desperately wishing she could repair her tool. "The last time though, my ribs were bruised and it was hard to breathe. My sibling, they knew what was going on. It was an emergency as far as we knew, and they volunteered. I didn't like it in the slightest."

Arcee nodded, "There was something off about it in the very beginning, but I guess you both have your annoying streaks."

Maristella couldn't help but smile underneath her helmet. "It runs in the family I guess."

"So, who are you trying to protect if not your sibling?"

She hesitated, her fists clenching. "The US government, they took someone from me. Multiple, someones. I don't want to lose who I have left. It's bad enough that, that my sibling did what they had."

Crawling up into a section of the cave, she heard Arcee murmur, "There used to be three of us."

Maristella tilted her head at Arcee, confused and letting the Autobot take her time to answer. "Chromia and I had another sister. Her name was Elita One..."

* * *

 

Blurr ran, searching for Prowl and the others. There was a bountiful of energon (Squishy really had found a lot of it), but it made seeing anyone else harder than it should've been.

"Blurr, over here." Prowl was holding up a boulder above his head, keeping the ceiling from collapsing on top of himself. "Blurr, I need you to grab me and run as fast as you can. Can you do that?"

It was hard not to panic, especially with the large amount of Earth on top of Prowl, digging into his servos and arms. Ratchet was going to have a field day with this one. "Yes,onthecountofthree?"

They both counted to three, Blurr having slowed down his speech. He ran then, faster than he ever had before, swiping Prowl out from under the rock, and sliding away as soon as he caught his friend. The stone fell, shaking the area. Pebbles and debris began falling. "Er,Ithinkweoughttogonow!"

"Agreed," Prowl grunted, each using their own ways to get out.

Seeing Prowl moving around, Blurr tried to calm himself. "Transforming powered ninja robot, transforming powered ninja robot, transforming powered ninja robot! Heroes in disguise, robot power!"

They made it, and Prowl gave him a look. "Really?"

Blurr wasn't able to meet his eyes. "I'm worried."

Normally most of the Autobots had difficulty every third word, but Prowl and Bee always could. And so did Squishy. "Squishy and Arcee are somewhere down here and I can't find them! Squishy has family, Prowl. Arcee and Chromia, we can't lost them. Wecan'twecan'twecan'twecan't-!"

Prowl settled his servos on Blurr's shoulders. "We'll find them Blurr. Autobots never give up."

Blurr nodded, hearing a muffled version of Windblade trying to contact them. " _No sign of Arcee or Squishy up here. Optimus just got Megatron to hightail it out of here, and Starscream...Is still down for the count."_ It was a bit odd, but also endearing, how much of human lingo they were all adopting.

"Considering how they've yet to locate Squishy's identity, I doubt it," Prowl sighed. "But we could use some help. We're too big for certain areas. Let's just hope that Squishy's map can be of some use."

* * *

 

"Is it okay if I asked what happened to her?"

Arcee held her arm. The human was always considerate. "I used to be reckless. I thought I could always depend on my sisters to help me. In a way, they did. Elita One she, we were in a battle on Cybertron, and she took a hit for me. Ratchet tried to help her, and put her in stasis. She never healed, or woke up again."

"I'm sorry," Squishy murmured, sounding sincere. She tested part of the wall, knocking on it. "But, I guess everyone says sorry, and it never really makes a difference, does it?"

Squishy had the voice of experience. Arcee smiled softly, "Perhaps not, but that doesn't make it mean any less. Thank you."

Arcee wouldn't push to hear Squishy's past. After all, the human had never pushed for their pasts, and Arcee wanted the human to be comfortable around them. She didn't want to gain their trust to find out who they were. Maybe, Arcee already knew a bit of who Squishy was. The human knocked again, and the echo was more pronounced. Arcee was willing to bet that the human was grinning.

"The wall here is thin enough that we can break through without too much trouble. Shoot here, but nowhere else."

The Autobot did it, and they ran through, seeing light on the other side. In the other area, their jaws dropped. "I've think I've gone crazy, Arcee."

"You already were, but I sympathize with that statement. I don't think I've ever seen this much energon before."

The human tensed, "Arcee, over there. There's a shard. How did it get down here?"

Squishy had walked over, picking it up, turning it in their hand before giving it to Arcee. 

" _-to Arcee. Windblade to Arcee. Please respond."_

Arcee grinned, " _I read you. Squishy and I found an Allspark shard, along with a whole lot of energon. We're okay. Can you trace my location?"_

_"Yes, we'll be there. "_

Squishy tensed, and Arcee recalled their device. " _Also, the human's speech device has been compromised. Don't ask them to talk."_

There was a pause.  _"Understood. "_

The human was waiting for Arcee's discussion to end. "They're on their way. Uh, do you have a replacement speech device?"

"In my bike," Squishy admitted. "You can never be too prepared."

"Agreed."

Of course, that was when the wall that Arcee blasted began to crackle further, and from the ones connected to it, water began to flow.

_"Windblade, we might have a problem."_

* * *

 

Chromia slid down one of the deeper slopes, her spark pulsing hard. She wasn't going to lose more of her family. Blurr and Prowl appeared from above.

"They'regettingsurroundedbywater!LasttimeIcheckedhumanscan'tbreatheinwater!AndIdoubtArceewantstogetrustedorhaveherprocessorsoverwhlemed.Weneedtosavethem.Weneedtosavethem!Weneedtosavethem!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Chromia grumbled. Looking into the water, she saw Arcee's hand, and pulled her sister up. "Where's Squishy?!"

"I lost the Allspark shard," Arcee gasped, shaking herself off. "They dove back in to get it. I tried to get them, but I-"

The Allspark shard flew, from the freezing pool that continued to grow, into the air. Prowl jumped upwards, and caught it. Out of the water, came Spiderman. The human panted for air as they crawled up on land.

"Squishy!"

Arcee placed a hand on Blurr's arm, settling him. "They can't talk, remember?"

" _Oh frag that."_ How did Sean Connery come back?! " _By the way, Arcee? I realized I forgot the spare wasn't in my bike. It was on me. Can we get out of here before anyone drowns?"_

Blurr picked up the human, and got out of there ASAP before returning, getting each and all of them out. Bumblebee and Ratchet were trying to inspect the human for injuries.

" _Look, I'm not hurt. I'm just really stressed. Weird question, but can I get a hug? Hugs are nice, and for humans, physical contact can help, a lot."_

Arcee knelt and embraced the human best she could, the size difference still great. After a couple of seconds, the human returned it. And, the human began crying. They excused it as a way to relieve stress further, but Chromia couldn't help but wonder how scared Squishy had been.

" _Thank you."_

It was official now, and none had to say a word. In their eyes, Squishy the Human, was one of them, an Autobot.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by Caved In by ASimpleArchivist.
> 
> Check it out here:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/11344800?view_full_work=true


	12. Chapter 12

It was Maristella Milagros' worst nightmare. The Autobots finally made something to better track both energon and relics, and there were two of them in Mexico. To be more exact, near her family's ancestral home. Oh, and it's right in time for a family reunion.

So, that meant in order to better keep her secret identity, she had to be in multiple places, at the same time.

Elios grimaced, _**"What are you going to do?"**_

Both automatically looked to the three motorcycle outfits that they had. Each had helmets, and there were plenty of Spider Man masks where they were going. The only two things missing to pull it off? They needed another speech device, and possibly someone else to don such an outfit.

" ** _Well, I forsee disaster."_**

The plan was simple-ish, Maristella would travel via Groundbridge, and Elios would make up some kind of excuse as to why she was running late. He suggested that it could be really bad gas and/or diarrhea. Maristella hit him in the shoulder for that. 

However, they would also appear in multiple places, each taking on the outfit without too much conflict. Problem was, they needed to be seen in the same place at the same time, while a possible third person acted as Squishy. They would all switch between outfits, so that at any time, all three would be seen together. Question was, who could it be?

" _ **How about Vanessa? Or Oriana?"**_

" _ **Vanessa is too tall, and Oriana can't keep a secret to save her life."**_

_**"Carina?"** _

He tapped his fingers against the surface of the table, " _ **Lucinda, or Selena? Celino? Bianca? Ofelia?!"**_

_**"Stalker, fashionista, too short, too muscular, and Ofelia...Might just work."** _

Ophelia wasarguably the most angry and violent member of the family, but she did have a heart, believe it or not. She was patient. She was overprotective of her family, and the Milagros siblings had witnessed her accomplish things that most humans were incapable of. The woman was essentially a human bomb. She could hold her own if it came down to it.

Elios shrugged, standing up and gathering two outfits. " _ **Whelp,** **wish me luck when I  go tell our cousin that there are giant, alien, transforming robots bent on destroying the world, and that we are totally not insane."**_

Yep, this was gonna go over well.

* * *

 

How does one describe their ancestral home?

The house was primarily made of stone and hard surfaces, including a patio made up of various patterns. Above it were awnings, providing shade in the hot sun. The wooden floors and overall structure could be dated back to colonial times. There were many, many arches, and gardens both inside and outside. The inside had a small area allocated for itself, including being underneath sunlight. It primarily held ingredients for various recipes. The outside had both edible plants, and flora of plentiful colors. Along the side of the building were vines, bringing even more life to the home. And the windows? All of them, along with a few doors, had half circles to allow in more light. All had signs of wear and tear, but that only made it appear more rustic rather than damaged.

The rooms were a mixture of small and large, as if those making it and adding to it weren't sure how big they should've been. There were old servants' quarters. The kitchen had checkerboard floors, the walls had wooden paneling and a cross in every, single, room. When Maristella was younger, she wondered if her family was trying to chase away spirits or demons. Nope, they were just incredibly religious.

Looking at that home now, through supposedly a stranger's eyes, she felt nostalgia taking over, but she had to pretend that she didn't know it at all. A low whistle sounded next to her. Lennox was taking in the view himself. "Beautiful."

" _Yeah, beautiful."_

"Thank goodness I've been brushing up on my Spanish."

Oh no. Maristella cleared her throat. "¿ _Hablas español_?"

"Más o menos," he replied, staring at her. "Wait, you know Spanish?!"

" _And a couple of other Latin languages. They share similar structures, so it's easier to pick up on then some others."_   How he replied was interesting. " _Why didn't they send a translator with you? Or even another agent?"_

Lennox rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I uh, may have told them I can speak the language?"

"... _Pinche pendejo."_

"What?"

 _"Nothing,"_   she said, glad he didn't know too much Spanish. " _Although this does present a bit of a problem. I can speak Spanish, but I wear a disguise. And you, I'm not sure if I want to know how good or bad you are at it."_

He blinked, "Do you have another one of those  listening and hearing devices?"

She tilted her head at him. "You want me to translate for you, and tell you what to say?"

"Yep."

Maristella should've known not to facepalm, motorcycle helmets made ringing noises. Handing over one of the spares she had (thank goodness she and Elios made more), she watched with annoyance as Lennox latched it on behind his ear.

Oh, this wasn't going to be fun at all.

* * *

 

Elios tried not to react to see the Autobots in their vehicle forms, either parked or driving up and down the streets. Some of the roads were paved too small for a few of them, but he was fairly sure that they would stick out regardless.

Seeing the cousin he was looking for, he called out, " ** _Ofelia! I need to talk to you!"_**

Making sure they went inside, and out of earshot from the Autobots and other family members, he sat down on a couch. " _ **Elios, we need to go watch the younger children. We've got babysitting duty."**_

This just keeps getting better, and better. " _ **That's just the thing, Maristella and I need your help."**_

She narrowed her eyes at him. " _ **Is this going to be one of those things where you end up running around in the nude?"**_

He swallowed. " _ **I wouldn't be nude."**_

She cursed, and put her hands on her hips. Why were the women in this family so terrifying? Even his supposedly shy little sister took on giant alien robot on a near daily basis. There was no way he could pull that off. 

He cleared his throat. " _ **This is going to sound crazy-"**_ Ofelia rolled her eyes.  _ **"But Maristella and I need you to put on this leather outfit, a Spider Man mask, and a speaker that makes you sound like James Bond so we can distract a group of giant, alien robots that can transform into vehicles 'cause Maristella's been helping the good ones from the bad ones since the bad once want to destroy the world-"**_ Breathe, breathe. You're not Blurr! " _ **And none of them know Maristella's real identity. Please help us!"**_

Ofelia stared, opening and closing her mouth a couple of times. " _ **The fuck?"**_ He winced, then felt a little bit of relief when she said, " ** _Cousin, start from the beginning, and slower this time, please? You sound crazy."_**

He did, and Ofelia promptly sat down on the bed, holding her head in her hands. " _ **I thought our family was crazy before, and you just outdid them all. Say I believe you, do you have any proof?"**_

Talk about convenient timing. Elios gestured out the window, where Wheeljack just transformed and was speaking with Chromia. Ofelia gaped, and slowly took one of the spare outfits. Elios grinned, and began telling her the plan.

* * *

 

Lennox wasn't atrocious at Spanish, but he seemed to use the Spain version of Spanish instead of the Mexican one. He also didn't have a real grip on the lingo. Maristella smacked herself multiple times, wishing for it to be over. Elios was coming over in his outfit, ready to take her place. She briefly told him what was going on, and he told her to go and meet Ofelia to look after the kids, and give her more information on how to act around the Autobots.

Maristella switched with him, changing into a sundress, and taking a book in hand. After some greetings to the other family members, she counted off the kids and...

One was missing. Ofelia told her to go look for the toddler. Just outside, in the dark of the night, was Alcides. Running out, she picked up her tiniest cousin, and stiffened at a familiar metallic noise. Slowly looking up, she screamed on the inside. About thirty feet from Alcides, was an Autobot. Oh, and not just any Autobot, but Optimus Prime. He too, was staring, and Maristella slowly backed away, cousin in arms.

Optimus raised out a hand, likely to calm her and talk to her, but Maristella made a run for it.

This day just kept getting better, and better.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a Slight Optimus Prime/OC tag up in the description, but this segment doesn't have to have any romantic connotation if anyone doesn't want that. It pends from reader to reader.

“How on Earth did a civilian see you?”

Lennox was ticked off, confused, and trying to be as patient as possible. Really, Optimus Prime was the most diplomatic and kindest of the Autobots, and Cybertronians in general. He was always careful, and carried himself with calm while doing it. It was rare to see him break out of that state. Some of the few times he’d seen him act differently, was when he suffered a loss, when he face Megatron, and…Squishy.

Squishy and Optimus, the most chaotic and the most orderly, got each other to smile over little things. Lennox may not be able to see Squishy’s face, but he could see a hint of lips upturning from underneath.

Perhaps that was why the agents reigning over the Autobots’ position on Earth got permission to allow a vigilante stay beside them, and alongside Optimus. Not only was the other human useful, but it was easy to see how they helped the Autobots in other ways.

However, none of them really needed another human being to learn of the Autobots’ existence. It was one thing to let Squishy in, but a total stranger, a true stranger, just saw Optimus’ true form. This did not bode well, not at all.

Optimus wasn’t able to meet Lennox’s eyes, and Lennox felt like scrap in that moment. “There was a human sparkling. It unlocked the back door to the house and was headed to the street. I escorted it back, and the human female saw me.”

Oh great, he was saving a baby, and Lennox, both as a protector and a father, couldn’t really lecture him about something like that. Hell, was there anything one _had_ to lecture him about?

“Okay, we just need to talk to whoever she was. Can you describe her?”

Optimus tried, but saying a dark skinned woman with black hair and wearing a sundress? Apparently it was a family reunion on the property, so it didn’t really help very much. As for Squishy, they had been oddly silent during the exchange.

“Squishy?”

“… _Any updates on the energon or the relic?”_

Lennox arched a brow. “Aren’t you concerned about the witness?”

“ _Not particularly. It sounded like she was scared or shocked, but she still had the forethought to get the child before anything else. Besides, who would believe a story like hers? She just went into her backyard, there was a giant robot that just let her go?”_ Squishy was unusually serious in times where others might not expect it. Some of those times, was when they were making plans, or evaluating a situation. “ _We can still keep an eye out though.”_

Optimus stiffened, carefully gesturing to other side of the house, where a woman in a conservative sundress was merrily eating with her family. She looked young, and was obviously compassionate from how much she tended to all of the kids, and some of the adults. But, she turned sometimes, confusion and worry in her expression, even as she lifted one of the toddlers onto her hip.

“ _You want to question her?”_

“Yeah,” Lennox admitted. “But my Spanish is rusty, and I can’t use you as a translator all the time.” Looking up out at the sky, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m meeting the family again tomorrow. They’ve been…Tolerant so far, but it’s hard to tell if they’ll actually work with me on this.”

Squishy inclined their head. “ _We’re in Mexico, and you’re a US official. It’s understandable why they might be cautious.”_

He nodded, holding his chin. “Hey, where are you going to rest for the night?”

“ _I have a few people in the area that owes me a couple of favors,”_ Squishy admitted. “ _I’ll be fine. See you guys in the morning.”_

Before he could get a word out, Squishy was gone, not unlike the Dark Knight. Even the Autobots looked confused. Bulkhead murmured, “That was weird. Did you hear how they said that it was understandable that the humans here might be cautious? Do ya’ think it has anything to do when they’re grumpy sometimes?”

“They said that they lost someone,” Ratchet commented. “It could be related.”

Lennox didn’t say anything at first. What if there was something related? Did that mean there was a connection to their identity?

* * *

 

Optimus was sitting outside in his vehicle form across the street from the home. Inside, he could see the human chatting with the human infants and younglings. She had taken out a book, reading them stories, and making all kinds of strange noises to mimic whatever was in the tale.

As the children were falling asleep, he heard the youngling from earlier giggle in their near slumber, “Bot, bot, botty bot bot!”

The woman stiffened, raking a hand through her hair. Softly smiling, she reached into a container, and gave the youngling…A toy robot. They snuggled into it, and she kissed their forehead. Turning out the lights, she began humming, taking out some kind of instrument from the room. It was tube like in structure, and had holes in it. She raised it to her lips, and began playing a sorrowful melody.

He had been planning to confront the human, talk to them to find a peaceful resolution, but in that moment, he couldn’t find the strength to do so. After a couple of minutes, she disappeared from his line of sight.

* * *

 

Lennox was gratefully eating breakfast with the Milagros’ family trying out new foods. He was a little wary of chorizos after a certain musical, but then he remembered that the character hadn’t actually choked on them. Then, across from him, sat the woman in question, talking with another girl, who kept rolling her eyes.

She blinked at him, “Oh, you’re that government person, aren’t you?” He looked right back, and she was stuttering. “Er, no wait, you’ve got a name, don’t you? Of course you have a name! Everyone has a name-!”

Her voice had been so quiet, that he’d barely heard her, but it was obvious that she was flustered. "William Lennox." 

The woman next to her grumbled something in Spanish before addressing Lennox. “What are you after anyways?”

The agent cleared his throat. “The US believes there are minerals with possible adverse effects on the population nearby. However, it’s on your extensive land, and we need permission to check for it.”

The bubbly one was smiling, and the grumpy one, looked ready to chop anyone’s head off. For some reason, she was eyeing sandals placed by the kids at the end of the table. “Got a warrant?”

“Ofelia!”

“What? Last time we had Americans here…” She went silent then, excusing herself, the other woman following after her worriedly.

One of the elder members sighed, “Sorry, Agent Lennox. There was an incident when many of the adults here were children.”

He instantly thought of Squishy for some reason. “If it’s not too rude to ask-“

“There was a set of twins,” the eldest there said. “They were the energetic ones of all the children, and they could bring smiles to everyone. They loved sports, reading, and pretending to be warriors to protect the rest of the young ones.”

A young man walked in then, pardoning himself for being so late. Lennox had seen him in passing last night. Elios? “What happened?”

The gentleman scowled, “One of our relatives’ homes was believed to be part of a drug cartel, according to a ‘witness’. Some of us, myself included, were there when the boys were waving around squirt guns. The officials thought they were real. They didn’t know that those were children at the time, but the damage was done. There had never been a drug cartel there, no real evidence, and two children murdered in front of others their age or younger.”

Lennox knew that Squishy could hear over the intercom, but he hadn’t anticipated for them to react. “ _Dear God…”_

It sounded sincere, and Lennox wondered if his suspicion from earlier was incorrect. After all, there were plenty of people wit grudges against the US government, and the majority of the family here lived in Mexico instead of the town that was suspect for where Squishy lived.  Although, if he had to pick a family member there, it was likely that Ofelia that-

Speak of the devil, and they’ll appear. She stuffed a plate full of food, ignoring him. Lennox could hear Squishy on the other side, and mentally checked off the people there (because he was curious of the possibility, that's all). He also checked off the ones that had been in the room earlier when Squishy was still on the device with him.

…There were a lot of family members there.

* * *

 

Optimus hadn’t anticipated for the youngling to return to him, babbling all kinds of nonsensical phrases. He was concerned as to what he should do, but those watching the children as they played outside, sent an emissary. It was the femme from the night before.

“ ** _Alcides! I swear, you must have a death wish!”_**

She didn’t even react to his vehicle form, and he was fairly sure that she had seen it when she ran away from him. The child kept reaching for him. The female paused, giving him a glance over.

“ ** _I’ve been drinking way too much coffee. Those were some weird hallucinations.”_**

The child giggled, and she gave them their robot toy, walking away as though nothing were wrong.

Well, Squishy might have been right. This human really did brush it off.

Why did it feel like he hadn’t wanted her to, though?

“ ** _Great acting, cousin,”_** Ofelia commented, slow clapping her hands.

Maristella frowned, “ ** _At least we’ve shown that whenever Squishy is near them, there’s always more than one of us close by.”_**

**_“Nice, but what about the energon and relic? Did Lennox say where it was?”_ **

She hesitated, but nodded. “ _ **The family cemetery.”**_

“ ** _Shit.”_**

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's wondering how the family can afford a cemetery:
> 
> 1) Their property is well over one hundred years old, and they keep ties to it.  
> 2) The Milagros' family isn't super rich or anything, their ancestors were just able to procure some more land in their area than others  
> 3) Because it is so old, there are often secrets lurking about, possibly like energon and Cybertronian relics.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elios accidentally flirts with a car.

They had expected gray and grim, not colors and a sense of life in the cemetery. Lennox was being led by Optimus' human, and Arcee, really doubted Lennox's suspicions. Where Squishy was loud and abrupt, she was shy and overly considerate.

That, and Squishy was right there with the rest of the Autobots, joking and seemingly cheerier. Acree grimaced, and the human noticed it. They excused themself, and walked over to Arcee. Hesitant, they said,  _"Has Lennox told you what happened to the family here?"_

Arcee nodded, "I understand war, to fight for my life, but younglings?"

That's when Squishy said something Arcee had not expected in the least. " _J_ _ose and Josefina were nine years old. My parents vacationed here a few times, and it wasn't unusual to see them back home either. They had multiple relatives in America."_

Squishy paused, letting out a small laugh. " _One of their cousins is kind of attractive by the way, and overly charming. Those two never fell for his tricks. Instead, they tried to get little Maristella there to play with them. She usually stuck to her books though."_

So, they all knew each other? But, obviously Maristella wasn't their human, since the femme had consistently been there when Squishy was. "What happened?"

 _"I saw them die when my own family came to see the sights here,"_ Squishy admitted. " _I saw their bodies, and learned how they did...I'm sorry for the constand distrust I have with the humans you work with, but that was one of the reasons for how I act."_

The Autobot inclined her head. "It certainly explains some things. So, they were childhood friends of yours?"

"... _They were heroes to me. THe thing is, I wasn't the only one who saw the twins murdered. Maristella, Selena, Celino, Elios, and Ofelia were all there too. It's why I'm concerned about some of them, and for Lennox. I'm just glad he took Maristella with him instead of one of those guys. She's shy, and afraid. So she's less of a threat."_

"Do you really think they might hurt him?"

Squishy looked to Arcee. " _All of you lost family. What do you think_ you _would do?"_

The Autobot didn't answer, knowing what she might do wasn't Optimus' way of doing things. Once away from Squishy, and found that a part of the family lived in their town. Actually, quite a number did according to government records. Yet, they were also ones that had been cleared by the government. And even if it was a family member, calling one of those people attractive would be extremely disgusting. The Autobots had been horrified upon learning what incest was, so nope. But, at least Arcee knew now that Squishy knew this family, a family who just happened to have numerous family members in extremely different cast systems.

Why was it every time they got new pieces of information, there were only more questions than answers?!

* * *

 

Lennox walked behind Maristella, who was bubbly and extremely feminine in nature. Every time he asked himself questions, it was becoming clearer and clearer, especially with this one, there was little chance that any members of the Milagros family was their Squishy. Yet, he wanted to know, if only to put his mind at ease.

"So, here's the mausoleum," Maristella said, gesturing to a fairly small stone building.

"That, doesn't look very big."

They were looking for a relic, and those tended to be kind of big. That, and the amount of energon their readings got? Maristella grinned then, opening the door. "It's bigger on the inside."

Looking in, he realized it wasn't just a mausoleum, but a crypt. There were stairs going down into a possible cave. "What the-?"

"There's a reason our family has a lot of land. The original members, the native ones, built it as a secret sanctuary away from conquistadors. The conquistadors still managed to find it, but they claimed the land for themselves. My ancestors are both bad, and good."

He nodded, wishing the Autobots could follow along. Inside, Maristella gave him a flashlight, and they walked down. He hadn't expected for there to be multiple rooms. Taking out his energon seeker (which looked like  a Geiger counter to disguise what they were really after), he gave her one. She carefully took it from him, her nervousness practically palpable. The reason she was sent as a guide, was because she supposedly came here oftentimes to see her cousins.

Even if he wasn't the one that shot those kids, he still knew it wasn't right.

She paused once, placing a couple of presents on a stone slab, where he suspected they were, and said something softly in Spanish.

Eventually they came to a door, where the energon seeker was directing him. "There's radiation in there?"

He grimaced, "Minor for now, so you should be safe. What's in there?"

She opened her mouth to answer, when the ground above them began shaking. He covered the civilian best he could, but whatever was happening, they needed to get to safety. "There hasn't been earthquakes in years!"

Lennox grunted, "Is there anywhere safe down here?!"

Maristella glanced to the room he was supposed to investigate. "The room there. It supposedly has some of the oldest family members there! They made it to withstand all kinds of disasters!"

The earth around them grew ever loudly, and they ran inside. Rock avalanched outside the room, right where they had been. And the rubble was also blocking the door. "...Is there any way out of here?"

"That was the only entrance and exit that we know of," Maristella whimpered. She looked at her phone, "No signal either."

* * *

 

What was with her and getting buried alive? Maristella had already been screaming on the inside when her grandmother told her to escort the agent in there, but now? This was so much worse.

She sat against the wall, trying to focus.

"...Miss? I haven't been entirely honest with you. I really am a US agent, and I am looking for minerals, but I'm also looking for a relic that belongs to another family. They desperately need it, and it may be down here as well."

She tried to act innocently, confused. She could only hope it was working. "What is it?"

"We think it may be a scythe of some kind. Does that sound familiar? It may be able to help us."

Huh, he hadn't told her that. "My family used to carry all kinds of blades, sir. A scythe wasn't all that uncommon. Also, why do you think a scythe of all things, can help us escape _that?_ "

She gestured to the rubble by the door, which was still blocking the way out.

"Well, our Geiger counters can help us find it. And it supposedly holds special properties that can help us."

Maristella narrowed her eyes, trying not to ask too many questions to make him wary of her. "What are you, Indianna Jones?"

"No, I don't have the hat."

Okay, that earned a little chuckle. Annoyed, she stood up. Breathing in  and out slowly, she met Lennox's gaze with her frightened one. "Please, don't let me die down here?"

"I won't," he promised, offering her his hand.

Together, they trekked even deeper inside.

Maristella only hoped that Elios wouldn't do something stupid. 

* * *

 

 

Elios was gonna do something stupid. With a battle cry, he kicked Breakdown's face, immediately regretting the fact that he forgot it was a robot, made of metal. It was really hard metal too. At least it distracted the guy momentarily, even if it did cost Elios a likely broken toe.

Taking out Maristella's bo staff, he gave it a test twirl, and leaned on it. " _Hey, anyone want to see where I could stick this?"_

The Decepticons were  _not_ happy. There was a guy apparently named Soundwave, and at hearing Sean Connery's voice, he tilted his head. “Well, first time for everything."

Oh. My. God. The line might not have belonged to Sean Connery (instead a very different James Bond), but it was notable nonetheless, ". _..What makes you think this is my first time?”_

Elios had forgotten momentarily about the flying robot bird chasing after him. However, when it got close, he made a mean swing, whacking it out the literal park. It was sparking as it soared into the air. Elios waved his hand, and gave Soundwave a small wave of his hand, not unlike the princess one. " _Shocking. Positively shocking."_

Shit, the Decepticon was pissed now. Thinking on his feet on what Maristella would do, he just shrugged, " _I guess he was kind of_ amped? _"_

Shoot, blasters. The Decepticon had blasters. DECEPTICONS HAD BLASTERS! That's when he started shouting all kinds of puns while he ran. Apparently Soundwave wasn't a fan.

As for the rest of the Autobots, dealing with drones and Breakdown wasn't fun. Wait, didn't Breakdown have a partner?

"Hello,  _Squishy."_ The Decepticon nodded to Elios' outfit. "Nice jacket."

Elios answered automatically, " _Thanks, it's made of boyfriend material."_

Knockdown went completely silent, looking somewhere between horrified and confused. How stupid was Elios? Stupid enough to flirt with a Decepticon. Although, Knockdown was an Aston Martin and a gorgeous one at...NOPE! He was NOT attracted to cars. He was not attracted to evil transforming cars at that! Ugh! Blechy blech blech!"

"...Is that why you gave me the hot wax? It worked nicely by the way."

EEEEEEEKKKKKK!!! Why did his sister give a bad guy hot wax?!

His mind froze. Wait, it had to be a coincidence. This couldn't be  _his_ Aston Martin, could it? Did the decepticon really know him? Did he know who Elios was?!

Some of the drones had stopped, watching in befuddlement slight disgust. The Autobots, especially Optimus, momentarily became distracted by what was happening, mortified, and the latter frowning greatly. Elios barely even knew Knockout. They saw each other that one time his sister was hurt, and he'd seen the Aston Martian version of him in town. Still, Elios had to keep up the act,  " _Knockout, I would ride you anytime."_

AAACCCKKKK!!! Who knew Cybertronians could blush? NO, DON'T THINK HE'S CUTE!!!

Knockout blinked, then smirked. Elios began screaming on the inside even louder than before. 

At least the Autobots were getting a better handle on the situation. But, where was Maristella?

 

* * *

 

 

The fleshing had actually flirted with him, and it was somewhat charming in its own, strange way. Yet, Knockout couldn't get that other one out of his head.

_*****Flashback***** _

Knockout had been parked near a store, hoping to get some tools (even if they were primitive), to help repair some parts of the Nemesis. Damned Autobots, they even scratched his paintjob. Angry and yearning to damage something, he hadn't sensed the fleshing approach him until the male whistled lowly.

He had scruffy hair, dark skin, and a bright smile. Knockout pondered what the human would do, looking for any excuse to harm him.

"An Astin Martin V8," the smile grew even brighter. "Man, you're just radiant, gorgeous."

What? Were there any other humans around? Was this fleshling talking to a perceived non sentient vehicle? The fleshling frowned then, glancing at the scratch left behind by the Autobots.

"Who on Earth would do something like that?"

Autobots.

The human hummed, and got out a small piece of paper, writing on it, and very carefully, gently, placed it underneath his windshield wipers. "I hope your driver comes by."

Later on, Knockout bothered to read it. It said that the human would not only repair the scratch, but give the car a tune up, for free. The Decepticon knew that humans survived on currency, and always made a big deal about it on their television shows and movies. So why would the human do that? Did he just like Knockout's make and model that much? It took a long time for him to even consider going to the repair shop. It had been a particularly bad day, and he'd run out of his favorite supplies and paint. Partially to sate his curiosity, Knockout went there. To his surprise and slight delight,  the human was positive, polite, and a bit amusing. He wasn't even bothered by how he couldn't see the supposed driver, or that Knockout rarely spoke.

His paint was good as new, and the rest of him felt good as well.

So he stopped by multiple times, hoping to see the fascinating being. They didn't seem to remember the first encounter, where he offered the free tune up, but he was still kind and mesmerizing.

Knockout liked this human.

_*****End of Flashback***** _

Knockout looked at the human in front of him, and thought of the one he encountered weeks ago. Snorting, he shook his head.

It was strange, and he himself had constantly berated his thoughts, furious at how disgusting they could be viewed as. But, he had a soft spot for that mechanic, and had become attached to him. For some reason, Knockout didn't regret it one bit.

"...Sorry, but I'm taken," Knockout said smoothly.

Squishy made an odd noise, but feigned fainting then, " _Oh, be still my broken heart!"_

Oh yes, he definitely preferred the mechanic.

* * *

 

 

Lennox and Maristella coughed as they removed the lid of the sarcophagus, dust permeating the air. Lennox frowned, looking back and forth between his energon seeker, and the object on the mummified corpse.

"I don't get it, isn't it supposed to be a scythe?"

That it was, but Lennox remembered something that Optimus said, that ever changing to suit its master, even between solids and liquids depending on the user.

"Maybe I got some wrong intel?"

 

Why was it an ocarina?

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter with Lennox and Maristella trying to find the Scythe, and a way out.

Why was there an ocarina instead of a scythe? Lennox was flummoxed, but also concerned due to how the room was shaking. Was there really an Earthquake? This place was evidently built to withstand them, even after all these years. As for Maristella, she had furrowed eyebrows as she stared at it.

"So, any idea why it's a musical instrument?" he asked.

The civilian shook her head, but carefully picked up and cradled the old object. "No, but I wish we could find a way out of here-" She stilled, slowly raising it and inspecting it. "This, what is this?"

Her thumb had accidentally scraped a side of the presumed stone to show lines of energon. Lennox barely heard her muttered guesses as to what it could be (agate, zircon, turquoise - how did she know so many?). Instead, his focus was on the corpse, where the seeker was pointing in the direction of. Oh please don't let the relic or or more energon be underneath the body, or in it.

Trying to prevent the inevitable, he cleared his throat. "Uh, do you know how to play one?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "We found this on a mummified corpse, and you want me to play it?""

Yeah, that was a bad idea in retrospect. She sighed, leaning against the wall, and they heard a clink. Both looked where the ocarina was in her hand to one of the indentations of the wall.

"Is it just me, or are those two-?"

Slowly, she rearranged the ocarina, and there were a series of loud thuds. They quickly got closer, wincing at the rocks shaking by the door. Then, the coffin began moving. Both screeched, with Lennox jumping into Maristella's arms. When it stopped sliding, there were stairs.

Lennox wheezed, "I would never make it as Indiana Jones."

"...There's a spider on your shoulder." He leapt out of her arms, yelping as he automatically began brushing himself off. Maristella walked up to him, and took a rather large tarantula from his back. He kept telling himself not to faint at the size of it. Seeing his reaction, she sighed as she set it by the stone doorway (where it crawled away into through cracks and a hole in the wall). "You do know that the bigger they are, the less venomous. If it was a tiny one, you'd really want to get away from that."

Don't make a sexual joke. Don't make a sexual joke. Don't make a sexual joke.

Veering his attention elsewhere, he looked down the ancient stairway. "You know anything about this?"

She glared at him, "No, Scooby Doo, I don't."

He grinned then, "Rorry Raggy."

Lennox couldn't blame her when she threw a sandal at his head. Offering it back to her Cinderella style (she seemed less mad when he did that), he gestured to the stairway, "Shall we go into the abyss?"

She looked to the ocarina and said, "I want to test something."

"I'm not sure if testing anything right now is a good idea." Maristella removed the ocarina, and the coffin didn't move.

Carefully, she began walking down the steps with it. He asked, "Why are you bringing that?"

"If it was some kind of key here, and a weird one at that, so why not elsewhere? We have no idea where we're going."

She had a point. Trekking down the steps, she had cradled the instrument to her chest, concern and fear in her expression.

He uttered, "Hey, we're going to be okay. I promise."

"You really shouldn't keep promises that you can't keep," she murmured. "It's a poor business practice."

"Well, it's a good thing I don't work on Wall Street then."

* * *

 

Maristella hoped that this wasn't one of those cliche things where magical or all powerful objects were part of her family's history. Not only would that change everything  in her perspective, but she had liked being somewhat normal, even with what she was doing now. To suddenly become some great destiny child...

She had wanted to choose something for herself instead of some kind of fate having influenced her to be something she had thought was of her own volition. Did that somehow make her decision to help the Autobots meaningless?

The woman's memories hit her. Her cousins' deaths, ICE trying to take her parents and their home away (again), and seeing how much her family members worked to make a better tomorrow for each generation. It was why Maristella and her brother were born Americans, but few would ever even think that at a first look. How many times had they been harassed? How many times had they had to defend themselves for just existing?

Autobots' faces interrupted the rapid flow in her mind. That's right, they'd lost family, like Arcee and Chromia, and the others all had something or someone else they missed. These refugees, as odd as they were to humans, missed the home stolen from them. And, she wanted to continue helping them, because she had wished someone had been there to help her and her family. Maristella wasn't going to abandon them, and if it was within her power, she would see them go safely home.

Down in the cavern (she really was honest when she told Arcee the percentage of unexplored caves out there), there were more coffins. Each one had blue linings of some kind.

"This feels a bit like a horror movie."

"Whatever you do, do not take any gold or shiny things," Lennox croaked. "I don't want to experience the live version of Aladdin, or the Mummy."

"This certainly isn't the Cave of Wonders that I was hoping for."

Cautiously walking past all the dead bodies, they tried not to react to the occasional movement from bugs or other small animals, and a corpses hand or foot limply hanging about. Okay, she had to admit, this really was like Indiana Jones, namely the Last Crusade. Please don't let her nearly drown again, she really didn't want that experience again. "All of these people, are your ancestors?"

Looking at the ocarina in her hand, she grimaced. For some reason, this reminded her of that specific cave back home, the one that belonged to some kind of Native American tribe. Optimus had said that Cybertronians had visited Earth before, and were all over the world, but this? This was kind of eerie.

"Maybe not all of them? I mean, this is kind of big. There could have been villages and this is their burial ground?"

There was a loud hiss, and the two had been expecting a snake, finally getting used to their surroundings. Instead, a coffin had opened. They slowly looked at their feet. Lennox had triggered something.

"You son of a-"

They had expected a booby trap, and not a body being used as a projectile at them. It landed on Lennox, who screamed. Maristella began whacking it, at that point not caring how old it was. He breathed, "Wait, this thing isn't alive."

"IT JUST JUMPED AT YOU!"

"It think it was thrown."

"HOW IS THAT ANY BETTER?!"

He ignored her screeching, and tentatively approached the coffin. "Yeah, there's some kind of mechanism in here."

She froze, "Are you saying that if we make a misstep, we might get a body thrown at us?"

Both went really, really quiet. Lennox choked out, "I'm just going to look at this, since there's no body to fling at us anymore. Meanwhile, can you go look at the body?"

Maristella tried not to groan in terror. Dead or not, this was nuts. "No thanks, I like living."

"It's not alive, it's not gonna hurt you."

She shivered, "Why is there even something that catapults dead bodies?!"

"To scare people off," Lennox said. "Somebody's gone through a lot of trouble to protect whatever's down here." There was a lot of beeping coming from the seeker device, directing them back to the coffin the corpse came out of. "You're shitting me."

"What is it now?" she groaned. He cautiously walked over to the coffin body launcher again, and waved his hand over it. "I swear if its another secret passageway-"

"It's the scythe," Lennox wheezed, relieved. It was long, had some kind of red crystal like material making the blade, and siler colored metal attached the blade to the black snath. He really to grab it, when Maristella stopped him. "What are you-?"

She shook her head, "Indiana Jones, remember? Even if it's not a giant ball coming after us, I don't think we want to push our luck."

"No offense, but we kind of need this."

Maristella winced, "I don't understand how or why, but, maybe we could switch the ocarina for the scythe?"

"I highly doubt they're the same weight."

"The ocarina would be heavier, but there was also a body on top of this so..."

Lennox looked like he was going to regret any decision he made. "Alright, here's to hoping we don't die."

She had the ocarina close to the area where the scythe was, and he snatched it. where she quickly replaced it. However, there was still a clicking noise, and both silently agreed to make a break for it.

"Please don't be a giant ball. Please don't be a giant ball. Please don't be a giant ball!"

"Shut up!" Lennox then saw that Maristella had gotten the ocarina back. "Why do you still have that thing?!"

 "Because it was obviously put there for a reason!" Lennox tripped, and the scythe fell, shattering on the floor. On the inside of the supposed blade, was energon. Both stared. "That wasn't the real scythe, was it?"

Lennox got up, dusting himself off. "That doesn't make any sense. Why send us on a wild goose chase?"

Maristella looked around, at a wall nearby. "Think I found the exit, but there's a problem."

"What?"

There were more stairs, but they had been damaged, and anything that might have helped had deteriorated. Maristella groaned, looking at the ocarina, "I wish that you could be helpful in some way."

The ocarina began whistling, playing on its own. Maristella yelped, dropping it and uttering Spanish curses and prayers, which really shouldn't go together. The thing began glowing, and transformed, into the Scythe. Lennox gaped, and Maristella laughed, still confused, but she said, "Told you it would come in handy."

 "ARE YOU SHITTING ME?!" Lennox cried out. It had been the Scythe that whole time?! He picked it up, and it turned into a gun. Maristella held up her hands as a surrender since the gun was pointed at her.

"Okay, I know we're all stressed, but please don't kill me."

"What, no, I-" It transformed again, this time into a light. "That, is freaky."

Maristella remembered that Optimus had said Amalgamous Prime was ever changing, and his Scythe was the same in its nature (including how his body had been in constant flux through metals, liquids, and other solids), and that the guy also created the T-Cog, which allowed the Cybertronians to transform. So. did that mean the Scythe transformed to suit its wielder's needs?

She held out her hand, "May I try?"

He gave it to her shakily, and she focused. "Please, we need stairs to be free of this place."

It did nothing, and she guessed it had some limitations. Meanwhile, Lennox walked over to the wall, the seeker beeping louder and louder. "That's why this has been having problems, these crystals? They're the radioactive stuff I told you about."

"WHY ARE YOU GETTING NEAR IT THEN?!"

"It's only mild radiation, like the kind from a banana. We're just worried that someone could use the stuff to make weaponry. I think the reason we got mixed, literal, signals, is because of these crystals. There's a ton of it everywhere, even on _that_." He gestured to the Scythe. "I thought it was mistaken earlier about a scythe being a musical instrument, but it wasn't. The crystals helped throw us off."

Maristella knew that was a partial truth, but decided not to comment. Something occured to her. "Hey, the Scythe was there that whole time, right? Anybody could've grabbed it. So why is it a key that comes to these catacombs?"

Lennox's eyes widened, "That likely means there's something else down here, something bigger." He hesitated, "But, we can't focus on that right now. There's plenty of time for exploring, later. Do you see a way out of here?"

 

Something hit her then. "Hey, you know Batman's grappling hooks? The really impossible ones that shouldn't work in real life?"

"Yeah?" He paled. "No, we are  _not_ going to-"

"You want to see if there's a way out, or not?"

He sighed, "I highly doubt this is like a Lantern ring, but you can try?"

She nodded, and Maristella breathed in and out. Sure enough, in her hands was a grappling hook. Practicing a shot, she aimed, and fired through the hole in the ceiling. It made past that, and gripped onto something. Checking how much weight whatever she got could take, she said, "Should we go up, one at a time?"

He agreed, "Ladies go first. And, you can hold my weight if something goes wrong. I can also be here to catch you if you fall."

Reluctantly, she began climbing, feeling as though she were in gym class all over again. Near the top, she looked down, and saw that there was an image from above of two giants fighting, and of humans taking the Scythe from one of their corpses.

Cybertronians.

Climbing further, and getting onto safe, safe land, she called out, "Come on up!"

The cable began swaying, and a few minutes later, they found themselves up on the surface. The hole was hidden by bushes and other places, between two rocks (one of which had been what the grapple hung onto. Touching the tool, she watched as it transformed into an ocarina again.

"Why was it in that form, anyways?"

Maristella muttered, "Because few would expect a musical instrument, and especially an ocarina, to be a weapon. But, the Scythe never had to be one. The tomb, the fake scythe, all of it, was to protect the real thing. And, maybe there's something else down there."

Lennox leaned over, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just trying to process a few things," she said honestly. "I'd rather forget all of this. You can take it if you want, and I, I won't tell anyone what just happened."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," he echoed her words from earlier.

"I know, and that's why I made it," she replied, handing the ocarina to him. "This, this is too much power, especially for someone like me. Besides, who would believe me?"

He was quiet, but nodded.

They began another trek, one to make it back home.

 It occurred to Maristella then, that there might be another relic in the cave she found back home.

Scrap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried having multiple POVs in the chapter, but it didn't flow well. Next chapter is supposed to have Cybertronians again.
> 
> Whoohoo!
> 
> Also, ain't I a stinker?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where an accident happens.

Ofelia Milagros could take a lot. She lost her little brothers due to a mix up from the US government. She had watched as some of those closest to her were taken by ICE or put into concentration camps labeled as detention centers. And now? Two of her cousins were helping to save the world…By fighting giant robots in costumes while sounding like James Bond.

That, that just sounded really, really bizarre. However, since when had the bizarre been a synonym for "fictional"? And neither word meant danger was any less. Rumors, lies, and stories had been the backing of wars. The bizarre confused people, and often, when there are confused people, there was fear, and anger. Both caused them to lash out at the world.

For a long time, Ofelia had been angry. She wanted to lash out at the people who killed her brothers, who hurt her loved ones, and if that all included the bizarre, then she would give them Hell.

When the Cybertronians weren't looking, Ofelia did just that.

That Breakdown guy? He was missing a limb now. Starscream? He was easy to make scream. Airachnid? Well, she couldn't use those legs anymore, because Ofelia found her own way to pluck them one. By. One.

Now, her gaze was turned onto Knockout, who justifiably looked very, very afraid. Good, he should be. She was nothing like her namesake. Instead of her dying, they would.

In her hands was a handheld can opener, dripping with blue blood. What was the stuff called? Energon? Airachnid croaked, trying to drag herself away. Ofelia stepped on the robot's head with narrowed eyes, and continued her song eerily. "... _Down came the rain, and washed the spider out...Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain-"_

She flicked the can opener, slowly stalking away from Airachnid. " _But the itsy bitsy spider, could never climb again."_

The one who used graphics and emojis on his face stood before her, silent as ever. It was missing its bird, and she didn't need to hear it or see it to know where it was. Most of their family members wouldn't have. When you'd been playing sports, namely baseball or football (actual football and not the American kind), your senses widened. Some catch or kick balls before they're aware the balls are there, instinct having been driven into them. She had known Maristella and Elios could do it, and so could she.

Jumping into the air, she landed on its back, and twisted the can opener around its excuse of a neck. They both began to fall, but as she did, she threw the thing at Soundwave's face. He managed to stop it, but that didn't stop the blood of his beloved friend from spilling onto him. All stared, realizing what  _Squishy_ had just done...

The human made others go  _squish_.

Ofelia wondered how they would react if her cousins realized their full potential as well. There was a pause, and the Decepticon played a recorded voice. " _You fight like a gladiator."_

 

...Why did those words sound so disturbing?

* * *

 

Lennox and Maristella had just managed to come back before dark, and in front of them, was Hell.

Lennox never thought he'd feel bad for Decepticons, but  _holy shit_ it looked like a massacre out here. And  _Squish_ _y_ of all people and bots, was in front of Soundwave. Something about them seemed different, almost bloodthirsty. He had known soldiers like that, ones who used rage to do things few else would ever do. Adrenaline could make and enable people to do crazy things. In that moment, Lennox found himself slightly terrified. Worse yet, Maristella was there to watch.

That's when there was a large cracking sound, and Optimus had thrown himself in front of Squishy, fighting the decepticon himself. It was rare to see Optimus look pissed, but that he was. However, that anger dissipated upon turning, and seeing Maristella. Stunned, Optimus was hit, slamming into a wall. The other autobots ran forward, circling around Optimus to shield him. Maristella was the one who did something truly frightening then.

The human with no armor and no defenses, murmured something as she ran in front of the autobots. From the ocarina, the Scythe, erupted a shield. It was, a pink shield with swirls and a triangle in the center. It covered all of them as Soundwave stood, waiting, silently.

She looked back, confusion and fear in her expression. "Um, are you guys all right?"

The soldier couldn't help but gape. This woman just ran and defended a group of strangers? Squishy slowly approached her, and Maristella looked sad. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on, but I'm pretty sure that's not your blood on your hands. So, please, stop hurting others. This isn't right."

_"Maristella-"_

The woman's eyes widened, and that's when Soundwave began blasting the shield. Maristella grunted, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. Lennox touched her shoulder, startling her. "Remember what I said earlier? It's going to be okay."

The blasts grew stronger, and epiphany appeared on her face, and she smirked. Speaking something in Spanish. He didn't get all of it, but the parts he did, "...¡la luz de Linterna Verde!"

The shield turned green then, and the shield into a Green Lantern ring. 

"No way."

Well, why not? If they could be Batman with an impossible grappling hook, why not a Green Lantern?

"Uh, what just happened?" Bulkhead asked.

"Human imagination," Lennox groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just, human imagination."

A green light energy blast sent Soundwave backwards, and when knocked off his feet, he flipped back onto them like a cat might. As for Maristella, she was covered in a Green Lantern outfit, much to her surprise. "This, is a literal dream come true. Am I dreaming right now? I can't tell anymore, although I'm not sure why Spider Man and a bunch of transforming cars are here...I probably had too much caffeine again."

Lennox smirked, "May I try? Or let one of the big guys do it?"

 "Uh, who's the leader?"

All pointed to Optimus, and she tossed it to him, his hands surprisingly (which it really shouldn't have been) gentle with it. It transformed into the Scythe's giant true form at first, and it was glowing unlike when it was with humans. Knockout was shaking his head, walking slowly backwards. "A Prime Relic in the hands of a Prime? No thank you."

Soundwave hesitated, but began to fly as well. Yet, they weren't in the clear. Soundwave shot at the rocks above the humans, and Maristella shoved Squishy and Lennox away, being buried behind the rocks. Squishy yelled out Maristella's name, running towards the rubble. Frantically, they began digging, Lennox and the autobots helping. They found her, Lennox checking her pulse.

"She's alive, but she's got a bad bump in the head, possibly a concussion and some broken bones. She needs medical attention."

Optimus had transformed first, but it was Lennox and Bulkhead who ultimately ran her to the nearest hospital, as Bulkhead was a green SWAT truck, and the closest thing that they had to a military vehicle. As for Squishy, they had been utterly silent. The moment Arcee reached to touch them, they said, " _I'm sorry._ "

They ran faster than they ever had before, and the Autobots couldn't find their human.

Squishy disappeared.

* * *

 

When Maristella awoke, there was a truly, mortifying face over her's, a strange man's. Instinctively, she smacked it, sitting up quickly, panting as she searched her surroundings. She was in a hospital room, and that guy she slapped...Was her brother.

" _ **God damn it! Why are all the women in my family so violent?!"**_

She stared at him, unable to form an answer. Her mind kept racing, trying to figure out what was going on. A doctor, her uncle, began asking her questions, but she couldn't say anything. clutching her hair, she began shaking her head. Nothing was...It was all so blurry...

_**"Maristella, please answer me?"** _

That name... _ **"W-who am I? Who-?"**_

She knew it, but her confusion was clouding her mind as she tried to sort things out. The doctor went to the door, where a blond man in a soldier's uniform was standing. She didn't know him, but she could hear, even if it all sounded muffled.

"There's a possibility she's suffering a form of retrograde amnesia, but we can't be sure until we have more time to-"

"She doesn't recognize me at all," the soldier said, his expression one of relief, but pain as well. Why? "How does she not-?"

The doctor, her uncle (that was her uncle, right? it was hard to tell), shook his head. "If she's been under a great deal of stress prior to her injuries, then to help her mind cope, her subconscious may have made her forget."

She felt tired, really tired, and her head fell back against the pillows. She could've sworn someone was calling her name. As soon as the daylight was there, it was replaced by moonlight. Really, really bright moonlight. Outside the window, were the sounds of cars, and...A giant with big blue, glowing eyes? Why did they look so sad? She tried to raise her hand, to reach out to them, but it fell limply against the bedside, her mind fuzzy again.

...It took a week for her to truly remember that the man was her brother, and the doctor her uncle, and the soldier? She never could place him. But, at least when it came to Elios, he was happy when she remembered.

"She may never be who we knew her as, or how she knew us," Uncle Adriánsaid. "Even if she does heal, there's no telling who or what she'll remember, if at all."

Ofelia sat in the corner, her face sad. Right, Maristella she, Maristella had messed it all up somehow. Somehow she hurt her head and couldn't remember what she should. Wincing, she said to her cousin, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I can't-"

Her cousin hugged her then, "I'm the one who should be sorry."

Maristella didn't know why Ofelia said that, but she couldn't help but hug her back. It only made Ofelia cry harder.

...

"This is home," Elios said, smiling softly as he watched her immediately walk towards a bookshelf.

That was right, she loved books. Books were nice, because they could take you anywhere, without you having to be afraid. The room, it was warm, and there were seats to read texts of all kinds on. Her fingers lingered on  _The Hobbit_. Her brows furrowed, she could hear a deep voice in her head say...

*******

"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole filled with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort," the giant uttered softly, his eyes (optics) entranced with the text on the electronic device. 

Hearing him later sing  _The Misty Mountains Cold_? It was glorious, and it was funny when he had asked her to sing, because it meant his voice melded with James Bond's. Maristella wished deep down she really could've sung it with...

*******

"Maristella?"

She shook her head, pausing when she realized she was crying. Wiping her eyes, she smiled at Elios, ever radiant as the sun itself. "I'm not sure why I'm crying. This just, it's all so strange."

The young woman already knew she was forgetting a great deal of things, but why did this hurt so much?

Seeing the book, she realized, that she wasn't just going to lay back and pretend everything was okay when it wasn't. She was going to make herself remember, if it was the last thing she did.

If she was nothing else, she had always been a stubborn piece of work.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit cliche, going the amnesia route, but as someone who's experienced something similar to what Maristella's going through this chapter, I decided to put a bit of myself in here.
> 
> At some point a few years ago, my memory started being affected by something, likely at that time related to migraines and other symptoms where I could vaguely recollect things, but I couldn't connect the things I knew I should have. Turned out, I had several diagnosed conditions affecting my brain. Some of my memory loss included a time where I even forgot I had this Archive of Our Own account, and I had left another story of mine incomplete, for nearly two years.
> 
> So, as my memory's been getting better, so have I. There are still days where I even forget my birthday or my own name, but other things are hard to forget, and those were often little things I did, even with people I couldn't remember. Mood swings were/are common too, because I felt things about what I'd forgotten. It really sucks, having little bits and pieces, but never what you really want/need.
> 
> Like I said, it's a bit cliche, but for me, I guess it's some catharsis, and/or a way to get a few things off my chest.
> 
> ...Maristella and I are both a bit thick headed when it comes to trying to come back from something we never completely understood, I guess.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically Elios and Knockout, just hanging out, being "gal pals"

Elios had been checking up on the Autobots every once in a while since his sister went Generator Rex on all of them.

From what Ofelia had told him, Maristella hadn't gone s _quish,_ but  _crunch_. It wasn't exactly her fault that she got boulders to the head, and broke some limbs, but he still had mixed feelings about the whole disguise thing, or just helping these guys in general. They had a good cause but, as seen, none of the humans, Squishies, or anyone of Earth for that matter, was exactly as durable as they were. Somehow, Maristella, the true Squishy, made this hero stuff look good. She'd had a handle on it all. And now? He tried to treat everything as it was before, but it all felt  _wrong_.

" _ **Son, is everything all right?"**_

Their father was currently helping Elios in the shop, tending to customers and repairing the little things. Their father really ought not to be doing that though, sine this stuff was getting harder and harder on him all the time...Why was his family so maddening about disregarding their own welfare?

 _ **"Just worried about Maristella, Papa,"**_ Elios admitted. " _ **She's not the shy girl she was before, or as quiet as the one we all knew her to be."**_

Araceli Milagros chuckled, shaking his head, " _ **She never was quiet nor shy, my son. She has always been adventurous at heart. It's why she reads so many books. It's why she explores the outdoors, her caves, so often."**_ At Elios' expression, he added, " _ **I believe it's also why you two are cavorting with those, 'autobots'?"**_

_**"Papa..."** _

_**"Don't lie to me, you know she feels the calling too,"**_ Elios' father said.  _ **"You two can never keep a secret from your parents, not that easily. How else do you think those government agents were never able to guess who she was before you began helping her?"**_

Elios began stuttering in disbelief.

_**"It was also why we told that agent fellow to travel with Maristella. Whatever the outcome,** _ **as** _**long as she was safe, we've always known she's been strong in her own way."** _

The young adult wanted to feel angry, to lash out, but he clenched his fists instead.  _ **"She's been disguising herself to protect us, to protect you-"**_

 _ **"Son, neither of you can protect us forever. Besides, it's always been in my experience telling others what you know helps them better prepare for something coming their way."**_ He paused, humming, " _ **Besides, if she's as every bit as stubborn as her mother, there's no stopping her. I'm willing to bet she's going to find her way back to that path soon. We all find something or someone worth fighting for eventually.**_

Izarra Milagros called her husband to bed, and Elios told his father he just needed some more time working.

" _ **...Am I the only normal one of this family?"**_

He was about to close up shop when a familiar, shining, scarlet Aston Martin rolled on in.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so normal.

"Hello," the voice from it, he, drawled. Elios didn't know if his heart was pounding from fear, or some other reason. Wait, no, don't! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! To the holy water with you! There was that mind boggling rumble from the engine, and Elios tried to pretend that everything was normal. "Can I get  a hot, wax job?"

Elios began screaming inside, and briefly excused himself to douse his head with the holy water that his mother kept underneath the cross in the room.

It wasn't working.

"Sure, no problem."

Problem, very much yes a problem!

* * *

 

 

There was something that Knockout could always appreciate in a person, cybertronian, human, whatever, and that was that being polite or civil. He appreciated when someone knew their abilities, and how to use them. Breakdown, was such a case in both aspects. Sometimes, he also appreciated when someone appreciated his appearance as well.

What he didn't expect was for the human to splash water on his head before toweling off. It made the human's armor shiny and slightly aesthetically pleasing. "Sorry about that, it's been hot in the shop all day."

"...Indeed," Knockout said. Seeing the human's slightly saddened expression as he got the best buffer in the building, Knockout asked, "Something on your mind?"

The human winced, looking unsure. "I don't want to trouble you."

"No trouble, least I can do for all the nice finishes you've been giving me."

Elios snorted, prepping the tools, but his grin made him all the shinier. "I won't bore you with details, but my sister got hurt during a family visit. Her memory since then, hasn't been doing so well. Took her a week to remember who I was. I guess I should be glad she's not a zombie."

"Seeing your movies on how to deal with zombies, I should hope so," Knockout tried to joke, and realized how cringey it was.

Regardless, as the human got to work, he chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so. You got a favorite, handsome?" The human tensed, then paled, "I'm sorry, that was innapropriate. If you'll allow me, I'll finish this and-"

"Who said I didn't like the compliment?" Both went quiet for some time, the human slowly gaining some flush to his cheeks, and the Decepticon not minding his small smile at all. "I'm curious though, you've never seen me beside the car. What makes you think I'm handsome?"

"I don't need to know what you look like," Elios said warmly.  "You talk about your team mate with care despite how much you complain about him, you're polite, sassy, a little cheeky, funny, charming, and somehow willing to put up with an idiot like me."

Knockout wasn't quite sure what to make of that. He was used to people pointing out how narcissistic he was, how he was sometimes willing to backstab others to get onto the winning team, his sadistic nature, or even how he felt like a coward sometimes...Like how he felt like a coward now.

"Moving a little fast, aren't you?"

Elios stilled as he finished up, then smirked, "I normally like fast, but if it's for someone special, I don't mind slowing down at all. Just lets me appreciate the view all the more." As Knockout tried to process that, Elios suddenly burst out, "So, any good horror movies you'd suggest?"

This human was evil, very, very evil.

"We can talk about it, after a race?"

The human looked sorrowful then, "Sorry, I can't. My car is...Well, I don't make a lot of money, so I usually have to put something together, literally."

Wait, was that what the scrap heap in the back corner was. Okay, this would not do.

Flaring up his hologram, he opened his car door. "Mind going for a ride?" He hesitated, and Knockout murmured, "Just to the ridge and back, promise."

Elios shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. "Just let me change then? I don't think you want oil on those nice leather seats."

"True."

The human came back in jeans, a white collared shirt, dark vest, and leather shoes. He was tying up any loose hair he had when he reentered. " _ **God, I must be out of my mind."**_

He always did sound interesting talking in his native language. It almost sounded like Elios purred half of the time. Knockout opened the door again, and Elios tensely sat inside. Revving, Knockout began driving, seeing the human glance around inside. Strange, the last time he had humans inside of him, they were in the trunk. 

"Nice outfit."

Elios looked over at Knockout's holoform. "Wow, you've got style both in cars, and clothing. I'm starting to feel more like a peasant than I did before."

"Scared?"

"A little, but I gotta admit, I'm more enchanted than scared."

Evil, little, human. Unable to look at him through the holoform or his mirrors, he began driving, and they talked of horror movies and stupid little things that humans did. It was always funny how they self criticizes, although he wished this particular human wouldn't.

During the drive, the human looked like he wanted to say or ask something, but wasn't able to. Knockout wouldn't push. After all, he had his own secrets. "Hungry?"

"Uh, sure. I'll pay."

Knockout had his holoform shake its head. "I've got it covered. Besides, you can think of it as reimbursement for the first free repairs you did for me."

"You didn't have to pay for the ones after that, you know. I didn't mind."

"Then you won't mind if I pay just this one time."

It was a question disguised as a statement, but the human reluctantly accepted nonetheless. "You're getting the next three free."

"Promises, promises," Knockout teased.

They got into a drive-thru, and he noted that Elios was particularly careful when eating. Actually, he wasn't messy at all. He had excellent manners. Kntheockout's scanners went off then as they arrived back at Elios' home. It was a call from the Nemesis. Elios blinked, then grinned, "Your big, rude boss?"

"Yes," Knockout groaned. "See you next week?"

Elios hesitated, and smiled softly, blowing Knockout a kiss after he stepped out.

"It's a date."

This human, evil, just evil.

* * *

 

Once inside his home, Elios asked whoever was listening, " _ **Did I just have a date with a talking car?!"**_

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter with less funny stuff (angst), but more humor to come after this bit.

Arcee knew that Squishy was Maristella Milagros.

Hearing that femme's voice? It was the same one that Arcee had heard in the caves. Logically then, her partner was her brother, Elios, seeing as they had no other siblings. That left everyone, everything, in a precarious postition. Arcee knew the identity of the Autobots' ally, but they didn't know, nor the human US government. But, she couldn't talk to the human herself, because apparently there was some faulty wiring in that human's brain.

So, what does she do? It was getting surprisingly dangerous facing the Decepticons alone. Their wrath came with a vengeance stronger than expected after what that other bloodthirsty human did. Arcee knew it wasn't one of the siblings, that maliciousness wasn't in their nature, but how to tell that to the others without arousing suspicion? Should she just tell the Autobots what she knew?

There were understandable reasons now as to why the humans hadn't wanted Squishy's identity revealed. That speech that Squishy made? It was all true, and their words genuine.

This shouldn't be a hard choice. The Autobots, her sister, her people were the ones she would always stay loyal to. She was a soldier. Optimus their leader. Yet, this human, these humans, had also become part of them, and the Autobots had accepted that, true identity or not. Even now, they were worried about the human's disappearance more than anything. It wasn't as if one of them had lost control (even if that wasn't Maristella or her brother). Look at Arcee, her anger overrode her often when it came to Airachnid. For Bulkhead, it was Breakdown. All of them abhorred Starscream, and as for Megatron...He caused them all pain, and it had taken years for Optimus to rein in his own rage, despite his calm facade.

After all, Chromia and Arcee hadn't been the only ones mourning Elita One. No matter how much Arcee told Optimus it was her fault, he always blamed himself for the loss of their sister, and of his bondmate.

It seemed like he was blaming himself now as he continued to drive by himself, to linger in the shadows. All were despondent. Even Blurr was slowing down. When had they gotten used to that annoying human, that reckless, foolish, stubborn, kind-hearted human. And what was worse? Arcee could now see in her head whatever expression the human had been making underneath the mask, because she knew Maristella's face now. She could see the human's smiles, their laughter, their fury, their nervousness, their fear...

Maristella had been afraid when she stood before them, defending them without the mask, but she still put a smile on her face. For every bit of fear she had, she was terrible at hiding it. Maybe that was why she wore a mask in the first place. Maybe that was why she disguised herself at all. It wasn't just for others, but herself.

The human had earned the Autobots' trust, so why couldn't Squishy don a disguise like the rest of them had? But, Squishy had forgotten them, she was safe. There was no reason for Arcee to destroy that semblance of peace. 

From across the room, Blurr said slugishly, "I miss Squishy."

Lennox was leaning against the wall, his arm bandaged. "Me too, buddy, me too."

Arcee needed to go on a drive.

* * *

 

Elios hadn't been expecting to see the blue Kawasaki Ninja 250 R bike anytime soon. But, there the kickass lady was.

He was about to pretend that nothing caught his attention when the motorcycle cut him off in the middle of his walk. He blinked, looking directly at the hologram's supposed face (there was a motorcycle helmet there at the very least). "Uh, what can I do for you?"

She revved then, "You're coming with me."

Turning on his heel, he ran in shock and fear. Nope, he just got out of the whole masked hero thing, especially one with giant alien vehicle transforming robots. He had nearly died because of these things. His sister nearly died way too many times, and one had been enough. They could have a new life. They could all be free! No government scares, no possible repercussions from the Decepticons, and no life endangerment from the Autobots. Everything should go back to normal now. It had to!

He slid baseball style underneath a truck (thank goodness it wasn't Optimus Prime), and narrowly escaped her on the other side. And he didn't know if it was good or bad luck that an Aston Martin was on the other side.

"Elios?"

"Ko?!" Elios squeaked, the sounds of tires piercing the air. Yeah, for how awesome Knockout was, the guy was terrible at coming up with cover names. Arcee's engine could be heard closing in, and Elios hesitated, "There's this crazy motorcycle lady chasing me. I don't know what she wants, but I think she wants to abduct me. "

The door opened, and Elios practically leap in, really hoping he wasn't making a phenomenally stupid choice here. "Human! I will get you and you will-!"

Elios squeaked, wondering what drove her batshit crazy. Knockout began driving quickly, telling him to buckle up. As soon as they got away from her, Elios, had a hand over his heart, and one on his head. Hyperventilating, he heard Knockout trying to calm him.

"Elios! I need you to breathe. Do you have any idea what she wanted with you?"

His eyes were watering at this point. His sister would be so much better at this, and, Knockout was a decepticon. What the hell was he doing? These guys couldn't care less about human lives. They couldn't care less about the Earth and considering how many times his sister had fought them, he was just being an idiot. "I don't know! I was just minding my own business and she tried to abduct me! Ko, I'm not worth anything! I'm just, a mechanic! Why would someone want me?! This is so-"

"You're not nothing."

Elios wiped his eyes, "W-What?"

Maybe it was all of the stress that had been accumulating from his sister's vigilantism, how he'd nearly lost his family, or even what little knowledge he had being too overwhelming, but he could've almost felt a lightness in his chest when Knockout said that. There was a few seconds of quiet, and a small sigh. "Elios Milagros, you're not nothing. And, while I don't know what that fem-, woman, wanted with you, you should know that you're safe with me. And, we can figure this out."

The human wanted to stare at the car itself instead of that projection Knockout put up. But, he wasn't supposed to know what Knockout was, or what any of them were. Is this anything like what his sister felt? Elios held his forehead, " _ **My God, you're too perfect."**_

There was an intake of breath, and for some reason, the seats began to warm. Elios decided not to comment. "Elios, you do know I can understand Spanish, right?"

Elios let out a choking noise, unable to look either the hologram or the car where he suspected Knockout could see him. Of course he could, Knockout was an alien robot, he was bound to have some kind of universal translator from how well he could communicate with all of them. "Er, no, I didn't. Uh, I can go if I make you uncomfortable or anything-"

"I didn't say I didn't like what you had to say," Knockout said. "I just think you should direct those words at yourself."

Elios didn't have a response for that except, "Thank you, for saving me, for everything."

"Just give me another horror movie to watch, and we'll be even." Knockout had sounded stiff when he said that, and not seeing the decepticon's real face made his words hard to decipher. Well, "deceive" was part of his title, so why should Elios expect any less? "Actually, do you want to watch it together? There's a drive in movie theater, or so I've been told."

Elios gaped a little. That, would be a very stupid thing to do, so of course his answer was, "I feel safer with you already. Sure, I think there's a showing of The Addams Family next week. They're a childhood favorite of mine."

"Then I'm sure it'll be wonderful."

He was so screwed.

* * *

 

Why would the autobots want Elios? Did it have something to do with the human's sister? After all, she'd been caught up in their little escapades when it came to the Scythe relic.

As his mind processed the abilities, he saw Elios worriedly look around, fear in his eyes as he searched for any sign of the Autobot, only to relax and smile once he saw Knockout, giving a little wave and walked into his home. Knockout had considered interrogating the human, because it shouldn't have mattered that the human had helped him shine brighter, that he made Knockout laugh, that they both enjoyed horror movies, or that dumb, idiot smile that Elios, the human, had. He should take the human, interrogate him, and then get rid of his hide just as Knockout would any Autobot or human-

He could see in his head just how horrified Elios would be of his true form alone, and what might remain of his hide once Knockout had been done with him.

...He shouldn't be worth the wrath of Megatron should anything happen. He shouldn't be worth any kind of trouble. But, he didn't like how terrified the human had been by the Autobot in her vehicular form alone. It was hard to fake that reaction.

Seeing from a distance, through a glass window Elios was embracing his family, lubricants falling every once in a while when their backs were turned. Why did humans cry when they were stressed anyways? Seemed a rather useless thing to do.

Driving on his way, Knockout tried to pretend that it was logical and a strategical maneuver he just did by sparing the human's life.

Yep, "deceive" fit him perfectly, because he did it to everyone, including himself.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Ofelia wasn't a  _good_ person. She did things that weren't the safest, nor the smartest. But, then again the rest of her family wasn't exactly concerned with their own safety either. All of the cousins used to climb and explore caves, disregarding their safety for the most part. One would think if they died at a young age, it would've been from their recklessness. Instead, they'd lost too many due to not the carelessness of their own mistakes, but of others'.

Her twin brothers had been taken because someone didn't double check their information (what, did everyone just look the same to those soldiers?). Her grandparents had wasted away in holding cells thanks to ICE, which totally sounded like one of those fictional villain groups, but was real. And Maristella and Elios, they found something else that sounded not only fictional, but impossible. Not even in her wildest imagination did she ever expect to meet aliens such as this, and especially under these circumstances. Seriously, explain this.

Yet, out of everything Ofelia had done throughout her life, she hadn't imagined feeling the way she did now, either. It was thanks to her own recklessness. She thought she was being like some kind of Robin Hood, and letting out some of her anger, her yearning for vengeance, on other people who wanted to hurt her loved ones. And seeing Maristella fall? It was as if they were kids again, interacting with worlds unknown, but something was lost all at the same time.

So, seeing Maristella going into the caves near their town? Ofelia couldn't just stand by. There was too much to lose.

" _ **What are you doing, cousin?"**_

Maristella glanced back at her, boots, suit, and all. She wasn't wearing a mask, or any true safety gear. " _ **I don't know how to describe it, but I feel a calling here, as if I'm missing something."**_

Ofelia prayed that if anyone was listening, that they'd keep her cousin safe, because she wasn't sure she could.  _ **"...Fine, but wear these."**_ Taking out the mask, helmet, and motorcycle outfit, Ofelia almost laughed when Maristella wrinkled her nose. " _ **Hey, I didn't pick this."**_

_**"Then who did?"** _

The cousins looked at eachother, both silently searching for answers they weren't entirely sure they had.  _ **"You did, and you've got to promise me you'll hear me out, 'cause I swear I'm not crazy..."**_

Maristella had always been a piece of work when they were younger, full of life and recklessness in addition to her stubborn side. Anybody who knew her, and truly understood her, knew that Maristella was not someone to ignore her instincts, or the words of others, no matter how insane it might sound.

_**"I'll try?"** _

_**"Okay then...A few months back, you saw transforming car robot thingys from space fighting each other and hit one of them with a car from your father's scrap heap-"**_ Yeah, this was not going to be easy.  _ **"And you made friends with the good ones who are treating us basically like creatures from a nature preserve - so we're more like pets I guess- while wearing a costume to disguise your identity  primarily since they work with the US government, and that costume consists of wearing a Spider Man mask in leather and a voice changer that makes you sound like James Bond."**_

Maristella was staring, blinking.  _ **"...Which James Bond?"**_

Their family was definitely crazy.

* * *

 

As weird and crazy as it sounded, Maristella's doubts began to dissipate once she put the costume on.

" _ **So, I'm really annoying to the bad guys?"**_

 _ **"Obnoxious,"**_ Ofelia confirmed as she followed Maristella to who knew where. Maristella sure didn't. It was the figurative blind leading the blind at this point.  _ **"Not sure why you did that, but you did."**_

Probably to distract the bad guys, or to get rid of some fear. The deep voice of someone reading The Hobbit rang in her mind, that among other things. Maristella nodded, and both gaped at a cave wall with some kind of large hole and symbols. Before Ofelia could say anything, Maristella followed her instincts. There was a clicking noise that echoed into the air, and with a curse from Ofelia, a stone door opened. Inside, was some kind of ancient village, with towers, domes that were clearly old homes, and gardens. Near one of them were a wall of hand prints, and a doll laid near it. Maristella approached carefully, picking up the doll.

As she stroked its cheek, she remembered a female voice saying that they wouldn't take something. Widening her eyes, she began to run, towards the edge of the village, where something was glowing. In a cavern, were blue crystals around a lake, with small islands of gardens in the middle. A relic, she was looking for a relic of some kind.

There was something shining in the water, and, ignoring Ofelia's calls in the background, she dove into the water.

Why did it feel like she had done this before?

Near the bottom, underneath one of the islands, was a large shard of something. She touched it, and one of the electronics in her helmet began fritzing. Picking up the shard, she swam to the surface, gasping for air.

_**"Are you insane?!"** _

There was still something shining on the bottom. It, was a book. Taking it up with her, she raised it for Ofelia to take. 

_**"Stop trying to kill yourself!"** _

_**"**_ _ **Sorry,"**_ Maristela automatically apologized. Miraculously, all of the pages had remained dry despite being in the water for centuries, possibly thousands of years. " _ **You know that alien tech thing is sounding really possible right now."**_

Ofelia reluctantly peered at it, " _ **What is it?"**_

As the shard grew close to it, unreadable scrawl became multiple Earth languages at once before picking Spanish. Maristella dusted her fingers over the cover.

" _ **The, Covenant of Primus?**_ "

Prime, Prime, why did that sound so familiar? The deep voice played in her mind again.

_**"Primus, Prime, Optimus. Optimus Prime."** _

Images swirled in her mind, and a few things clicked then.

_**"Oh my God, this is a book of God!"** _

Er, the Cybertronians' God to be more precise, or was that the Allspark and OH GOD THE SHARD WAS NEARLY HALF OF THE ALLSPARK.

" _ **What?"**_

* * *

 

Windblade had been keeping her com open for weeks, nearly a month, for any sign of Squishy, when Sean Connery's voice cracked, " _ **The...Covenant...Primus."**_

"...Chromia, I think I know what Squishy's been up to."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the short chapter.


	20. Chapter 20

Neither Maristella nor Ofelia had expected the sounds of engines as they began to leave the caves. There were no exits that they could immediately use, so Lofelia took something out of her pocket...A Miles Morales Spider Man mask. 

 **"** _What the-?"_

The eyes in Ofelia's mask crinkled, and Roger Moore's voice came out as she placed something inside of it. _"Bond, James Bond."_

 _"Oh my_ _God."_

" _Oi, your boyfriend might be coming for all we know. By the way, I should've known that you like them big."_

_"What-?"_

There was a loud rumble, and Maristella found Ofelia attaching Spider Web Shooters onto her wrist, and in Ofelia's belt was a can opener. For some reason, it was stained with blue. It reminded Maristella of squid ink. It reminded her, of the crystals inside the cavern they discovered, and of dried blood.

The rumble grew closer, and Maristella placed the book inside her coat pocket, just in case these were the bad guys, the Decepticons. She cracked a yelp when she found herself picked up by some kind of blue blur picking her up.

"SQUISHY! IMISSEDYOUDIDYOUMISSME! DIDYOUMISSUS?! WHERE'VEYOUBEENTHISWHOLETIME?!"

She was being hugged by a robot, one who was a Ferrari just a second ago. What was her life anymore? " _...I've been, taking some time for myself. A lot happened, but I figured I could make myself using by finding shards and, relics."_

Yeah, there was a lot still missing, and Maristella really needed some help here. He set her down, blinking so rapidly in confusion between Maristella and Ofelia that she wondered if giant robots could have strokes. "Who'syourlittlefriendhere?"

Before Maristella could answer something, Ofelia said, " _A friend. I learned of you before...Squishy could tell me. I want to help too."_

He eyed the can opener at her side, recognition flaring. He looked uneasy, but then grinned. "Windbladeisgonnaloveyou."

Who the fuck was this?!

Yep, Maristella was definitely going to need help.  _"One more thing..."_ She took out the piece of the Allspark, and the Convenant.  _"Think this will do any good?"_

Both of them got swooped up into the Ferrari, and he drove faster than either of them could process. Next thing they knew, there was a large, colorful circle that appeared out of nowhere. He raced through it, and the two humans were inside some kind of old military base, one that was in desperate need of repairs. But, they weren't alone. Inside, were also a whole bunch of robots, all familiar in their own way.

"GuysIfoundSquishyandtheyhaveafriendandabigpieceoftheAllsparkandtheConvenantofPrimus!"

Ratchet groaned, "Slow down!"

Maristella gently knocked on the glass, swallowing as outside the vehicle, things got really, really quiet. Blurr opened both doors slowly, and Maristella cautiously stepped out. In her arms, was the shard, and the book. " _Uh, hi. Lost something?"_

She held up the objects, shrinking in on herself. She hadn't expected a radio like noise calling out her pseudo-name, " _Squishy!"_

Ofelia was staring as Maristella was given what would normally be some kind of death hug. Seriously, all those pointy bits? That had to hurt. Ofelia tried not to react when something heavy stepped near her. "So, this is the human that made such a mess last time."

She turned to see, a robot jet thingy. Weird, weren't decepticons normally the fliers? Then again, apparently Elios flirted with an Aston Martin.  _"Problem?"_

"Yeah, you nearly got another human killed."

 _"And I regret Maristella getting hurt because of me,"_ Ofelia said honestly. " _She's a good person, and one that has my respect. And before you ask, I live in the town, and I was invited to the Milagros' family reunion. Giant vehicular transforming robots kind of stick out no matter where you go. I'm surprised few others have figured out that you guys exist."_

The jet glared, and Ofelia didn't even flinch. "Well then, what's your name. We can't have two Squishies."

Blink. Blink. " _You're, just accepting me, like that?"_

That's when a deep voice rang in the air. A shiver went up and down both humans' spines. They peered upwards, and Ofelia tried not to gape at the size of Optimus Prime. She had joked about Maristella liking them big, but there really was no getting over how humongous this guy was. "Your, actions spoke very loudly. I am also accustomed to working with all manners of protectors and soldiers. You are, 'rough around the edges', but that doesn't mean you lack a spark."

Holy heck, that voice. And, sparks were hearts, right? Something like that? The Mustang had set Maristella down, and gestured at Ofelia, " _My own little bunny rabbit. I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him and squeeze him..."_

_"WHAT?!"_

"George, I like it," Blurr said carefully with an evil grin, holding his chin.

Ofelia didn't like how they came up with human names. " _Really?"_

Oh no, the Mustang had the puppy eye look (which really should've been impossible for a robot). Normally she was immune to that kind of thing due to dealing with all the little kids in her family, but this? Ofelia felt something twitching in her eyebrow and forehead. " _Fine, I'm...George."_

" _Yay, that's the spirit!"_

She needed to kill something,  _now_. "Squishy and George, this ought to be interesting."

A police car drove up to Ofelia, and she instinctively went to grab her can opener, but halted, breathing in an out. It transformed then, and Ofelia met his even gaze. "You humans, have problems with figures of authority amongst your own kind."

Ofelia wanted to retort so many things, but held her tongue at bay. Restraint was not something that came easily to her. The police car offered a hand, and she reluctantly shook one of his fingers. "I am Prowl."

" _I guess I'm George."_

Prowl smirked, "Optimus, I'd like this one."

" _You'd like what now?"_

A soldier appeared from the shadows, startling Ofelia. It was the one who'd been with Maristella back in Mexico. What was his name again? Lenny? No, Lennox. "The Autobots assign some of their members to specific bots. Years ago Bumblebee had a charge named Charlie, then there was Sam. Almost everyone here has a partner to go with into the field. My partner is Ironhide, but he's on a mission elsewhere. So, Bumblebee's my partner until he gets back Somehow Wheeljack got Fowler, and Squishy...I think Blurr?"

That was news. The blue motorcycle raised her hand. "Technically, Squishy is Optimus' charge." Everyone, and that included the Autobots, stared. The blue motorcycle continued, "Though Blurr and I often give Squishy rides when Optimus isn't available."

There was a pause, and Ofelia leaned over to Maristella. " _Wow, I guess you do like them big."_

Lennox had been sipping a coffee when he spit it out. The whites in Maristella's mask widened, " _What?"_

 _"Don't worry, we can talk about it later,"_ Ofelia teased.  _"Anyways, we got this big rock here, and some kind of book. Plus, I wanna know what happened to that giant Scythe that the big guy had."_

The ambulance scowled, "There are limits to its abilities, regrettably. We attempted to recreate potential technology that could repair Cybertron, but it can only create tools or other forms of weaponry." He held it out to Maristella, and when she placed her fingers on the staff of it, the object transformed and shrunk to fit her own grasp. "Something I find surprising is how you humans can use our technology when its made for Cybertronian use."

" _Maybe we were test subjects of some of your ancestors?  There are several missing links in our ancestry, which evolved fairly quickly compared to several other species on our planet,"_   Maristella said, not minding the odd looks given to her. 

"That...Makes some sense," Ratchet replied carefully.

Lennox tilted his head, "So, what? We're all part cybertronian somehow?"

The two masked humans shrugged. " _You got a better explanation?"_

"Touche. So, Allspark and Convenant of Primus?"

Ratchet took the book from Maristella, and as it grew in his hand, gave it to Optimus. Prime held it endearingly. "The Convenant of Primus is a tome of our history, and is also believed to be prophetic. It was written by Alpha Trion, many of its pages written by another relic known as the Quill. It had the ability to alter some parts of reality, including portions of the future. Alpha Trion, was also my mentor, and a dear friend."

Ofelia raised a hand, " _I'm sorry, did you just say he had a Quill that could rewrite reality?!"_

 _""_ No, it cannot rewrite reality, only adjust it," Optimus explained. He had opened the book, flipping through its pages. "All of the relics have their limits. And, the Quill was destroyed by my mentor long ago, wishing to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands."

" _Great...So, we can't bring back Cybertron that way either,"_ Ofelia grumbled, leaning against a wall nearby. " _Is there ANYTHING we can use?"_

"Besides the Allspark, there's the Matrix."

All three humans looked at each other. Lennox grinned then, and cackled when the masked humans pretended to shoot at one another, each going in slow motion, even making noises. The autobots, were just confused until the Mustang played, _"You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."_

 _"_ Ah, an entertainment reference," Optimus nodded. "To specify, the device is called the Matix of Leadership or the Creation Matrix, and  is an extension of Primus, our Creator. It is one of the few objects that can give life to cybertronians. Theoretically, it might do the same for Cybertron."

Ofelia turned to Lennox. " _So, we're looking for the Lost Ark?"_

The Mustang made a whipping noise and began playing the Indiana Jones theme. Lennox sighed, hands on his hips. "Yeah, that's basically it."

" _Yippee ki yay,"_ Ofelia deadpanned. From her tone, it was obvious she was parroting Bruce Willis, but left off the last part. Lennox narrowed his eyes, but didn't comment. " _Whoohoo."_

Oh, this is gonna be fun.

* * *

Elios had gone back to his room, and stiffened at the sight of motorcycle gear on his bed, and Spider Gwen mask. Trembling he picked up a note that had been next to it.

It read:  _Want to become a Musketeer? Sincerely, Ofelia_

Why? Why was his family so insane?

Hearing Knockout beeping outside his house for their...Date, he started wondered if he was really one to judge.

"Why me?"

 Oh, and the voice changer? Pierce Brosnan.

 


	21. Chapter 21

The Autobots were trying to get used to the idea of three Squishies now (Lennox and Fowler were especially wary of the situation), but as it turned out, they weren't the only new members.

Fowler leaned across the metal barrier on the mezzanine, whistling at the three masked humans before waving at Prime. "We've got company. Three autonomous lifeforms just entered Earth's upper atmosphere."

Optimus nodded, thanking Agent Fowler before tentatively transforming and opening up the door for Squishy. Prowl transformed as well, with George entering. And the newest human member? He was the most reluctant to enter any vehicle. No one seemed to have bonded with Mr. Spider Gwen yet. There was little known about him after all. Even George had made his abrupt personality known.

Lennox had started getting into Bumblebee when he waved over at the third Spider Person. "Hey, fancy riding with me?"

There was a nostalgic half smirk on Spider Gwen's face. " _Oh you have no idea how much I want to respond to that."_

Getting into the Mustang, he checked to make sure he was buckled in. "First time?"

"... _No, not quite,"_   Spider Gwen admitted. " _There was a time when Squishy got hurt, bad, and I covered for him. I was the one who told the Decepticons that I had a jar of dirt, and asked them what they thought was inside it?"_

Bee played a recording, and Lennox couldn't help but grin. "That, was evil."

" _Exactly. By the way, any idea why Squishy does the whole James Bond and Spider Man thing?"_

"I thought you might know," Lennox shrugged. "I think it started with Squishy wearing a Darth Vader helmet to disguise his voice, and maybe because it got too hot in there, they put on the mask? Not sure why James Bond though." He pondered of the past for a moment. "Hey, what do you want to call yourself?"

Spider Gwen shrugged, " _I hear Bumblebee is good at picking names. What do you say, Bee?"_

There was a slight high pitched whirring noise of excitement before he played a movie audio clip. _"'I like 'Indiana'."_

Bee began playing the Indiana Jones theme then. Lennox laughed, "So, Squishy, George, and Indiana? Oh, Fowler and Simmons are gonna love this."

Indiana shrugged again, " _I like it."_

"You know Indiana Jones named himself after a dog."

_"I don't like snakes."_

"That's your reason? You could be Agent Neville Flynn."*

The Spider Gwen mask was glaring at him. " _Indiana Jones."_

Lennox threw his hands up in the air before giving Indiana a bag. "Fine. By the way, you might need this. First time through the teleporter is never fun."

" _The what?"_

Bumblebee whirred once more, " _Beam us up, Scotty!"_

Lennox cackled as Indiana screeched, rainbow colors swirling around them. 

* * *

 

Elios did not like this. Elios did not like this. ELIOS DID NOT LIKE THIS!

As soon as they got through the copycat of that terrifying boat scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Elios twitchingly let go of the dashboard, and grabbed the bag from Lennox. Stepping out of the Mustang, Lennox grinned brightly. "Tooth Fairy!"

What? One of the new bots transformed from a GMC Topkick truck, and gave a deep, breathy laugh as he ruffled Lennox's hair. "Hey human. Long time, no see. How's your sparkling?"

"Annabelle's great. She misses you," Lennox snickered, playfully punching the hard metal. "Ironhide, we've got some new humans on the team. In fact, they're 'Humans in Disguise'."

Elios saluted Ironhide, as did Maristella and Ofelia, the latter lax when she did it.

"New meat!"

He got rammed into by Wheeljack and Bulkhead, all three getting into (maybe literally) a scrap fight. Arcee raced over and got picked up by a red 1970 Dodge Challenger, with horns. He was beaming, "Hey 'Cee!"

Why did he sound like The Rock?

"Cliffjumper! You're okay!"

He arched a brow (robots have eyebrows). "Why does everyone think I'm going to get myself killed?"

"Because of how reckless you are."

Oh God, it was a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, with missiles. He was almost as big as Optimus Prime. All three masked humans gave odd looks at him before Ofelia turned and gestured to the big guy. " _Dibs._ "

"What?"

Maristella cleared her throat. _"We're, the human covert operations team, I suppose. We tend to either sneak behind enemy lines, or act as distractions to the Decepticons. I am codenamed 'Squishy', this is 'George', and-"_

" _Indiana,"_ Elios said at Maristella's indication, folding his arms. 

 _"_... _Indiana. Some of our code names are new developments. Indiana's especially. And you are?"_

The Autobot's lips (robot anatomy was something that would take getting used to), were a thin line. "I am Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime's second in command in the Cybertronian war.

There was a pause, a couple of glances at Optimus for affirmation, and all three gave proper salutes then, confusing the bot. Ofelia snorted, " _We're only doing this once. Otherwise, we're not exactly soldiers, but volunteers for this kind of thing."_

"And how, helpful, has your 'volunteering', been?"

Yep, this hard head was skeptical as Hell, Michigan. Optimus, surprisingly, walked over to speak on their behalf, "With their aid, we have located the Scythe of Amalgamous Prime, the Covenant of Primus, and nearly two thirds of the Allspark."

It must've been unusual to see Ultra Magnus impressed, because his expression didn't change. Looking at the three masked humans, he inclined his head. "I see. And they are the charges of-?"

"I am partnered with Squishy, and the other two are still trying to find their 'fitting' partner. Prowl has asked to partner with George, and a third has yet to be decided for Indiana."

There actually was a slight reaction as Optimus mentioned being one of the guardians. Ofelia raised her hand, " _Do humans always have to have an Autobot watching them?"_

"Onlytheclosestonestous!" Blurr announced, patting Squishy's head. Ture to his name, he was there one second, and gone the next. He stood behind an agitated Ultra Magnus then. "BythewayUltraMagnusisahardheadalwaysthinkingaboutboringstuffand-" Ultra Magnus glared, earning Blurr's timid body language as he slid away, "Sorry."

Elios doubted that there would ever be some semblance of friendship with this Autobot and Ofelia, and for Maristella, she'd probably have the urge to leave. Guess that made him the bait for the soldier. " _George, I think I'm going to have to take you up on your dibs."_

_"Take him, I can practically smell the stick going up his exhaust pipe."_

Ultra Magnus looked like he wanted to yell until Elios stuck out his hand. " _Mind taking a chance on me then?"_

There was a moment of silence, and Ultra Magnus looked to Optimus first before shaking his hand. "Indiana, is it?"

Bumblebee was playing the theme song again. " _Yes, sir, Bumblebee named me, like he did the others. Apparently he likes entertainment figures. So, shall we get to business?"_

Oh, and this guy visibly carried missiles and had the build of a very strong vehicle. Elios was willing to fight, but unlike his cousins, he had some sense of self preservation. Ultra Magnus? Possibly the most sturdy one there.

He tried not to think about how each of the cousins had some sort of authority figure for their bots. Maristella had the leader of all of them, Ofelia got a police car, and Elios got the second in command...Although he wished inwardly for a different transforming vehicle entirely.

Man, he wished he had some holy water about now.

* * *

 

Arcee had already been worried about one human, but three? She nearly felt her spark fluctuate when the three first did a covert mission, but was pleasantly surprised by how cohesively they all worked together. It was almost as if they had a hive mind, only giving the smallest of hand signals as they moved. The decepticons, almost freakishly, didn't notice them until near the end, when there were a couple of obvious Allspark shards missing.

Airachnid had initially gone after them until she saw the human with a car opener. There were still scrapes and scratches from where George had gotten her. In fact, most of the decepticons were afraid of them. As for the other two...

" _You look like you're itchy. Any chance you've got roboticks?"_

Whelp, looks like they found the punny one. Lennox was groaning in pain, his autobot partner enjoying everyone's misery while Cliffjumper cheered them on. Ultra Magnus stayed silent, observing the situation with a stoic expression. 

"These...Are unusual tactics."

He didn't even notice that Squishy had appeared next to him. " _How so?"_

He jumped, gaping at the human until they tossed the Allspark shard at him. Playfully saluting him, Squishy added, " _Got to get back to my teammates. We'll call if we need an assist."_

He blinked and they were gone. "...Are you sure that one isn't Blurr's charge?"

Considering how protective Optimus seemed of that one, "Yeah, we're sure."

That, and he had also claimed the human as his own. Arcee wondered-

"DIE HUMAN SCUM!"

" _That's racist!_ "

"THAT'S THE POINT!"

There were some blasts, and, surrounded by smoke, three masked humans appeared, two of them covered in embers. " _Uh, we might have company."_

Ironhide rotated his guns, obviously for show. Lennox smirked by hid side, raising up his own firearm. "Then, let's give them a warm welcome."

Ultra Magnus barked out orders, including telling the humans to get inside him. It was strategically best, considering his armor was as tough as Ironhide's. Indiana didn't hesitate, and the others did soon after. He drove as though their lives depended on it, and perhaps they did.

Knockout appeared, gritting his denta. Next to him, were Airachnid and Breakdown, the last one looking worse for wear.

Cliffjumper pounded his fists. "Autobots-"

"Roll out," Arcee finished, all charging.

To make it short...Airachnid had a few more scars, Cliffjumper gave Breakdown the horns, and Ironhide made sure that Knockout would need a new paintjob.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Snakes on a Plane aka "I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comedy and fluff. My brain goes to strange places.
> 
> Also, this chapter was partially inspired by ASimpleArchivists' Better Left Unsaid (Or Not)
> 
> Here's a link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13949775

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes while writing, I listen to music. Not entirely sure why, but this feels like it fits:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByfFurjQDb0

Elios wasn't having fun. Women's cycles? They synced, meaning that both Maristella and Ofelia were rather agitated, and visibly so.

Ironhide gestured to them, Lennox furrowing his eyebrows. Elios tried no to focus too much on the latter. "Rough couple of days."

Ofelia's latest kick on a punching bag nearly tore it in half. See, where Maristella had a hard time moving, Ofelia took out her anger and pain out through exercise. Meanwhile, Elios did his best to support both of them, even when Ofelia was roaring at the equipment. Just make no comment. Seriously, he grew up with a family mostly consisting of women. Just, let them be and be there when they ask for it.

Lennox tilted his head, "Do you ever get mad about the mask you got?"

Huh? _"What do you mean?"_

"Well, I mean the others got two versions of Spider Man, and you've got-"

Oh don't you dare. _"They picked it because Spider Gwen is my favorite hero. If I liked someone in DC comics or in elsewhere in Marvel, they get me something."_

"And, Brosnan?"

" _He's my favorite Bond! They got theirs, and I got mine."_

Lennox was grinning, "Good. She's my favorite too."

Both men looked at one another, and Elios relaxed a little. Making sure no one else was around, Elios asked, " _What do you know?"_

"That Cybertronians can smell blood and always have those weird expressions when coming across it," Lennox said quietly. "They're positively fearful right now for multiple reasons."

" _...Like what?"_

Lennox smirked, "Ironhide's met my wife." Elios choked a little, raising a hand for a high five. Lennox high fived back, an knocked arms. "Don't tell some of the other agents. Some are obsessed with masculinity."

" _Gather that when they all assumed we were men,"_ Elios said, mentally noting Lennox's confused expression, then flush of embarrassment, as though he were realizing he had also made a small assumption. " _There are multiple reasons we wear disguises, Major Lennox. It just helps when some hard heads presume what they believe should be, and what shouldn't be."_

Lennox nodded, holding out a fist, and Elios pounded it.

* * *

 

Ultra Magnus was trying to adapt to humanity's strange mannerisms. Where he felt uncomfortable, the others just, adapted. Ultra Magnus was used to learning how to blend in, to command, to take charge. Now, everything was flipping on him.

_"What's up?"_

He looked upwards, "Er, the ceiling?"

There was a pause. " _You know nothing of human culture, do you?"_

It was Prime's little human pet. "'Squishy', was it?"

They nodded, " _Do you like books? Tomes?"_

He frowned, "I, read sometimes, although not for pleasure."

" _Watch vids?"_

"When they're useful."

It was fairly obvious that the human was trying to find something he'd be interested in. But, he'd been part of a government now long gone, and a soldier for even longer. All of this? It was strange and unfamiliar. The human began humming in thought, then perked. " _You were  bobbing your head."_

What? Looking at himself, he realized that he had. "I, yes."

_"Nice, let's find you something that you might enjoy here on Earth. Maybe Classical is your style, or jazz?"_

Don't be annoyed at the human. Optimus liked this one. There had to be a reason. There had to be a reason he tolerated these thi...beings.

"Jazz is an Autobot that climbs walls and is vaguely interest in martial arts."

_"Great, our jazz is something similar. You might like it."_

Turned out, he did, more so when they blocked out the wild ruckus that the Wreckers, Blurr, and Cliffjumper made with the violent human. Yes, he liked jazz music very much.

* * *

 

Fowler hadn't anticipated how quickly the Trio had welcomed the other Autobots, even with their vast differences in personalities.

George was loud and chaotic, something that a majority of Team Prime seemed to agree with. But, the guy also seemed to care deeply to the point of being warrior protective. That in itself could easily be a benefit as it was a threat. The shield they made for themselves projected hostility at times, which he used against his enemies, but sometimes against those he was supposed to protect. It could be problematic. 

Indiana was someone who was a good listener, and seemed to notice things others didn't. He was becoming fast friends with Lennox and the more astute of Prime's group. He was wary, guarded, but supportive of others, including those he was closest to. He seemed less interested in the Autobots though, and far more in the welfare of his other humans. That could be extremely detrimental. 

As for Squishy, they were the patient, the calm, and the one who loved to explore all manner of things, including those around them. They were the reader, the observer, but there was something about them, that made you want to experience the light as they did. There was almost a childlike life in them, one full of imagination and wonder. Fowler had forgotten such things could exist in adults. Unfortunately, those traits, that idealism, could easily get them killed.

There were benefits to all of them, and something inside that made Fowler uneasy, each in their own ways.

Yet, seeing the Autobots becomng satisfied, perhaps even showing a slight bit of happiness with their new human companions, Fowler wondered it there were more benefits than most would count.

Then again, he did just get pelted by three water balloons.

"What, are you doing?"

Lennox waved, "Practicing tactical maneuvers! Apparently, you aren't very good with surprise attacks!"

"That's not how you train-!" SPLAT. "You're a soldier Lennox!"

" _We aren't!"_ all three shouted back, raising their arms with balloons in hand.

Fowler took in his surroundings, finding that even most of the Autobots were taking part in this madness. Thankfully, he had Wreckers on his side. The base split up into groups, each protecting their respective humans. Bee and Ironhide were working with Chromia and Arcee to protect Lennox, because Ironhide and Chromia were apparently a thing, and Arcee would never go against her sister. George had the allies found in Cliffjumper, Prowl, and Windblade.  Indiana found friends in Ultra Primus, and Blurr. Blurr was very good at attacking people off guard, and a brilliant tactician. It only helped that Ultra Primus was a commander.

As for Squishy? No one noticed them until they were all covered and soaked. All agreeing to go after them, everyone halted at discovering the human inside Optimus, safe, dry, and reading books with him. Yeah, no, no one was going to go after Optimus. Optimus Prime trumped all, and Squishy knew it.

"The Wreckers won this round!" Bulkhead declared.

"What about my aerial strike?" Windblade whispered harshly, glancing at Optimus. "I even got Blurr on that one."

It was kind of adorable when Squishy fell asleep inside, and Optimus kept his engine running to keep them warm and safe.It even sounded like Optimus himself were snoring.  The other two humans hesitated, Indiana most reluctant of the two, but ultimately decided to trust their companion with Prime, in such a strange place.

Fowler almost missed it, but he was fairly sure Lennox didn't when they heard Indiana say under his breath, "... _Optimus Prime, take care of her."_

Lennox narrowed his eyes at Fowler, and the agent decided in that moment that he hadn't heard anything at all.

 

* * *

 

Maristella woke up in Optimus' warm, leather seats. Struggling not to rub her eyes, she looked out the windows to see an endless sky of stars. Gasping, she alerted Optimus to her new conscious state.

"Did you rest well?"

Despite not remembering everything, Maristella felt safe with Optimus Prime. Was it because he was strong enough to be gentle? Was it because of the voice that lulled her to sleep? Or just him, as the dorky book lover? The person who cared while unsure how to show it? Regardless, her instincts told her what her mind couldn't.

She beamed, " _Yes, I did. Thank you."_

The rear view mirror tilted a little, and the seats warmed a little more. They sat in comfortable silence, taking in the moment. 

" _Where's Cybertron?"_ He told her, and she grinned, " _It's beautiful."_

The rearview mirror had tilted a little more, and Maristella didn't comment when Optimus said, "Yes, it is."

" _Do you want to make constellations?"_

"Aren't there already plenty in your lore?"

The human snorted, " _All constellations are stories, some waiting to be told. I think I'd like adding some stars to ours."_

She hadn't specified who 'ours' was, but maybe she didn't need to. Slowly, they plotted out the lights in the sky, and at some point, the charge in her speaker's battery begun to run out.

As if realizing it when she removed it, Optimus started to say she didn't need to speak with her own voice, and she shrugged. Perhaps she was just tired, or maybe feeling safe to take such a risk, but somehow, it felt right.

"I trust you."

Unlike with Arcee, this was a choice that was nice. She did it of her own volition instead of something bad occurring, in an accident, or even because it was forceful. No, it was Maristella saying that she was comfortable with him. It was her giving her consent. and him not pushing for more.

There was another pause, and they began to talk of little things, pleasant and painful, adding the memories to the stars. She told him of her memories of her cousins, good and bad without naming how she was related to them. She told him of her grandparents, of her love of caves and their endless secrets. He told her of Orion Pax, of his friend Megatronus, of Elita One, of the little details he liked of both Cybertron and Earth.

...It was a good night.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter that I wrote while half asleep. Updating all fanfics soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and angst ahead.

Who knew that the most terrifying thing to Optimus Prime...Was a human baby?

There in the Autobot base, was Lennox showing Ironhide how much his daughter, Annabelle, had grown. It was weird seeing one giant robot thingy hide in a corner, and the other (one who liked showing off his cannons) cooing at the little tyke, who was staring upwards at everyone. She reached for Ironhide, and Lennox carefully let Ironhide hold her. The little one began to promptly mess with his fingers. Ironhide was being extremely careful not to get her with any pointy bits.

"You know, when Ironhide first got to Earth," Lennox said, watching the scene. "He was terrible at scaring kids. One called him a tooth fairy." He snorted then, "Too bad he doesn't like dogs."

" _So that's where the nickname game from,"_   George remarked, arms folded. " _And, is your spouse okay with this? I mean, no offense, there's a reason Squishy got their name."_

Agent Fowler looked like his blood pressure was rising a wee bit too much. "Ironhide, be very, very careful."

Lennox chuckled, "That's just the thing, Sarah and I wanted to ask Ironhide something very important." Ironhide waited, listening. "Ironhide, would you be Annabelle's godfather?"

"Awhat?" Blurr called out, clearly confused.

Squishy raised their hand, _"It's basically a title given to someone that a or multiple family members trust with their children. It means Lennox wants to know if you'd officially like to be part of an Earth Family. If you agree, then that little girl gets two father figures in her life, one of whom is a giant alien vehicle transforming robot."_

Chromia leaned over Ironhide's shoulder, looking for permission from Lennox before letting the kid explore her fingers as well. "I think Ironhide would be a good family bot."

Since when did cybertronians blush? Even Ratchet was sputtering in shock. As for Ironhide, he had the softest smile anyone could imagine. "I would like that. Thank you, William."

The humans in the room, including the newly formed covert ops team, began clapping. As for Optimus, he allowed himself to get a little bit closer to the kid, peering over at it. To no one's surprise, she waved her hands at him to. He glanced nervously from Ironhide to Lennox, seeking help. Lennox leaned against Ironhide, elbowing him slightly. "I think we all trust you. Ironhide?"

"Just be careful, Boss Bot."

Could cybertronians get heart attacks? Hopefully Optimus wouldn't drop Annabelle if he did. The two stared at each other for the longest moment before Annabelle made happy gurgling noises, smiling and laughing. Anyone could see Optimus' smile, even with the protective mask, as he let out a soft and quiet, "Hello."

It was so obvious that he was trying not to scare her, and he succeeded when she reached up and grabbed part of his nose. Ironhide's and Optimus' optics made a weird glow, and George leaned over to Ultra Magnus. " _Uh, are they supposed to do that?"_

Ultra Magnus looked just as scared as Optimus had earlier. "It's, something most cybertronians do when they come across something they feel affection for. It's their spark lighting up."

Chromia joined in the glowing too, and some others. Simmons whistled lowly, "That kid, is going to be the most protected person in the world."

There were no disagreements there. However, then Optimus paused, looking to Lennox first before handing Annabelle to Squishy. On instinct, Squishy made sure to support the almost toddler, ensuring that Annabelle was comfortable. To everyone's surprise, except for the covert ops team, Annabelle fell asleep in Squishy's arms almost instantaneously.

Lennox was gaping. "How the-?"

All three covert ops members, with their James Bond voices, said, " _Language."_

Ratchet reluctantly moved close, observing the phenomenon. "Fascinating. I didn't know some humans could have this effect. How are you doing it?"

" _Squishy's always had this weird way of getting kids to calm down. Here, watch,"_  Elios commented, turning to Lennox to get the go ahead.

He held Annabelle with the same level of care, but the baby began whimpering, waking up with eyes wide. Then, again with Lennox's permission, he handed Annabelle to Ofelia. This time, despite how well Ofelia did the same thing as as the others, the baby began shrieking cries of distress. Automatically, Ironhide began to get out his guns, but made them go back in while the other bots, and humans, covered their ears. 

"By the Allspark!" Wheeljack yelped, "I didn't know human lungs could be that powerful!"

Elios held up a finger, and handed Annabelle to Squishy. Within less than a minute, the baby fell asleep again. But, unexpectedly, Squishy placed her in Ironhide's hands again, where Annabelle stayed asleep, gently breathing. " _Looks like I'm not the only one to have that kind of affect."_

Those glowing eyes were adorable, in a really weird way. Trying not to stir her, Ironhide handed Annabelle back to her father. As he rocked her, Simmons whispered, "Who let a baby in here in the first place?!"

"SSSSHHHH!"

"But-!"

"SSSSSHHHHHH!!!"

* * *

 

Maristella followed Optimus as he started to leave, worried. _"Are you okay?"_

There was a pained expression in his features. "It is not their fault. Last time I encountered human offspring, someone was hurt. And, I was scared of bringing harm to the young one."

Ooh boy, it would not do well for Optimus Prime of all people to be  _that_ kind of afraid of infants. " _Well, that's a good thing."_ He paused, looking at Maristella, expecting a further explanation. " _I used to be scared of them too, everyone is at some point. For me and George and Indiana though? We had practice working with children of all ages. Not everyone is suited to have kids, or even want them, and that's okay. George only seems to do well with older youths, and Indiana with tweens, but they'll still protect young ones with their lives."_

"Most from Cybertron do the same," Optimus said somberly. "Even Megatron did at some point. He was a miner who became a gladiator, and he abhorred youths being sent into he was forced to be in. I, I agreed with him."

There was more, wasn't there? Maristella asked, and Optimus had the saddest, bittersweet smile on his face. "I was going to have a sparkling of my own with another cybertronian. Her name was Elita One, and we both wanted Megatronus..." There was a pause as he corrected himself, pained to do so. "Megatron, was my cohort, we were of the same generation of protoforms, and Elita One and I considered him to truly be family. He had agreed to be our future younglings guardian, never wanting them to have the childhood that he did."

Something ached inside. Not everyone was truly evil, or at least born that way. Why hadn't it occurred to Maristella that even Megatron was a good person once upon a time?

Wait, Elita One was Chromia's and Arcee's sister. And Arcee said-

"It was my fault," Optimus said, his voice hoarse. "If I had only stopped Megatron from...We both knew it was an accident, but I couldn't bring myself to forgive him for that one moment, out of everything."

So Arcee and Optimus both blamed themselves for what happened to Elita One. But, did either of them truly deserve it? Maristella didn't know everything that happened, but it did help gain insight of how much the war hurt everyone. Imagine Megatron, Optimus, Elita, Arcee, Chromia, and Ironhide, all about to start their own families, building something and trying to be happy, only for it all to fall apart. Worse yet, by the very people they trusted most.

"We were all working together to end Cybertron's corrupt system, he and I were brothers in arms, and he chose his name after the 'Fallen', trying to inspire others to have Cybertron's 'fallen' society reformed. He wanted things to be better, we all did."

Maristella found her hand drifting to his side, unsure how to comfort him. How does one comfort another's world being destroyed? After losing so many people they loved? After a future having been destroyed? Quietly, Maristella asked, " _What happened?"_

"He started looking for Prime artifacts to help his revolution, bombed areas of Cybertron, and killed the oldest member of the Council in his extremism and I..." He vented in and out. "I tried pleading with him, as a brother, as his friend, but his forces took over most of Cybertron, destroying all those who stood in his way, even Elita One."

Maristella clenched her fists, the knuckles cracking, gaining Optimus' attention. Before he could ask her anything, Maristella hugged as much of his leg as she could, inwardly cursing for him being so huge. "...Squishy?"

" _I'm so, so sorry,"_ she cried, her voice hoarse. " _I'm sorry but, I don't know what to say. I can't imagine all that you went through. I'm sorry I can't find the words to describe how it hurts knowing what happened, and what should've been done. There's so many things I still don't understand, and I, I'm sorry I can't help you with it all. I'm sorry I'm useless in comparison to what you need. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"_

Optimus was eye level with her then, looking pained for an entirely different reason as his fingers reached out to touch her. It was still regretful, but in ways Maristella couldn't understand.  Instead of hugging his leg, she hugged one of his fingers.

He let her, staying in the quiet that they both needed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm considering bringing in a few new characters from Canon Transformers (series):
> 
> Marissa Faireborn - Acts as an ambassador between Autobots and Humanity
> 
> Sari Sumdac - Would be a time travel chapter(s), giving hints to what will happen in the future (includes the Covenant of Primus, and the Blades of Time)
> 
> Unicron - (some lines from the possible chapter include, "WE'RE THE SPAWN OF SATAN?!", "No, we're the spawn of a satanic, robotic unicorn."
> 
> However, I'm unsure as to how people feel about Sari, seeing as as a lot of people consider her to be a Mary Sue. Personally, as a kid, I really liked her growing up, but I can understand why some people didn't.


	24. Chapter 24

" _What artifacts do we have so far, and how many are there?"_ Ofelia asked, eyeing the Covenant of Prime.  _"And, what the hell do they do?"_

Why giant car robots needed books, she'd never understand. Nor could she ever imagine Optimus Prime of all people being a librarian. He was so huge! How could he go anywhere with that size?

Ratchet grumbled, grumpy as ever, "There's the Scythe, the Star Saber and the Cyber Caliber, which are blades of unimaginable power-"

" _Nothing's unimaginable for humans,"_ Ofelia commented. " _Didn't that one girl become a Green Lantern for a moment?"_

The doc arched a metallic brow, "There's also the Forge of Solus Prime, which Squishy managed to point us towards from the docking bay of the Nemesis."

_"The giant hammer thingy?"_

"Yes," Ratchet growled. "The Apex Armor, and the Covenant of Prime."

There was a pause, and Ofelia glanced at Optimus, " _What's a 'Prime' anyways? What makes them so special?"_

"They are the warriors, leaders, and protectors chosen by Primus, meant to guard and bring peace to all of Cybertron. They were the first of our people to be created, and now there are few in number. They held powers that no other cybertronian has, which is  _why_ we have the artifacts we do now, because they placed parts of themselves within those objects."

"... _So, the artifacts are horcruxes?"_

"WE DO NOT HAVE MAGIC!"

_"Oh my God, you know Harry Potter?"_

It was still confusing when the autobots blushed. "I read the books and saw the movies after  _Squishy_ made a reference after we first met. It was, fascinating."

_Aka, you liked it."_

He tried to avoid that subject. "In any case, Optimus has a direct conduit to Primus, the creator of the Primes and all cybertronians, since he has the Matrix of Leadership granting that ability. It's what transformed him from Orion Pax, to Optimus Prime."

" _Wait, does that mean Optimus is Jesus? Holy shit, Optimus Prime is a demigod!"_

"No he's not."

_"Are you sure about that?"_

Ratchet didn't comment.

* * *

 

Fowler was pacing, and Lennox looked anxious. Hell, Optimus looked nervous.

The Milagros group watched all of the Autobots and their fellow humans. Some, like Bee, seemed nonchalant. Windblade kept making a stoic expression.

Maristella was about to ask what was going on, when the hangar bay door opened, revealing a woman in a suit, and Agent Simmons. The former was narrowing her eyes at the trio, and Simmons had a slight smile when he caught sight of Maristella aka Squishy, but it vanished.

"So, you're the new covert ops team?" the woman asked. She offered her hand, and the siblings shook it while Ofelia didn't. "Marissa Faireborn. I've been told much about you three."

Suspicious. " _Oh?"_

She blinked, then smirked, "I see the rumors are true. You all have a James Bond voice, right?"

 _"Will you get to the point?"_ Ofelia said.  _"You're here for a reason, probably not something the others like, going by their body language."_

Marissa scowled, then shrugged. "Fair enough. Your group hasn't been authorized by the United States government to go on the missions that you have. Not to mention-"

" _'Not to mention' is redundant, but continue,"_ Ofelia remarked, ignoring how many people slapped themselves in the face.

:...No one knows who you three are, meaning it's difficult for anyone to trust you," Marissa stated. "However, you three have managed to gather a majority of the Allspark shards, and many artifacts belonging to the Autobots. That, and we've seen what you're capable of doing to decepticon forces."

 _"Okay, so why are you drawing this out?"_ '

Elios leaned over, murmuring, " _It's 'cause she's a politician. They tend to make things extra fluffy and add extra words that they think is sophisticated, but is just really super annoying."_

Maristella looked between them, and sighed. Marissa's eyebrow was twitching. "Fine, we don't trust you, but we want you to still remain as part of the Autobots' team because you're helping in ways no one ever thought you could. To join us, you need to tell us who you-"

" _No,_ " all three Milagros' family members said. Maristella stepped forward, " _We may be more willing to work together with agents like Fowler, Lennox, or maybe even Simmons, but there are reasons we keep these identities a secret. Just as you don't trust us, we don't trust you. However, we do trust those three humans, and the Autobots."_

She hesitated, " _Do you know how we discovered the autobots, or decepticons? It was because a member from each was fighting nearby the town. Since then, decepticons have continued coming through, even destroying parts of our homes. But the autobots have always been there, and the three of us know others who know that they exist..."_ Like her and Elios' parents.  _"But those people can't fight, and we can, and they know it. And that means not just protecting ourselves from you, but  from the decepticons. Plus, I heard you've been hacked before by Soundwave, so do you think we really want you to know us? "_

Marissa was staring as Maristella added, " _To endanger us and possibly all of those people? Do you want the decepticons to find our real identities through your computers? They_ will _track us to harm us, everyone, and to get to the Autobots. We're protecting all when we put on these masks, never just ourselves."_

The silence was heavy enough to be palpable, and Marissa frowned, but at least she wasn't scowling. "...Telling my higher ups won't be easy."

Bee's radio crackled, "' _we do trust those three humans and the autobots'."_

Maristella tensed. He had recorded her? Marissa smirked, "Then I'll go ahead and send the recording over. By the way, you three need a group codename."

All three of them turned to Bee, seeing as he technically nicknamed them. He was bouncing excitedly. " _The...Golden...Trio."_

Ratchet made choking noises, and Ofelia burst out laughing, pretending to wipe out a tear. " _I can live with that. So, Squishy, George, and Indiana. And I didn't think things could get weirder."_

"Actually, you three should meet the other civilian humans. Maybe you could share experiences to better aid the autobots?"

Bee began squeaking excitedly, playing a girl's and Optimus' voice. "' _Oh, I'm Charlie. Charlie Watson,' . 'Are you Samuel James Whitwicky?'"_

"Those were Bumblebee's first humans. He first met a young girl named Charlie Watson. We monitor her to make sure she stays safe," Fowler explained.

Simmons stepped forward, "Then there's Sam Whitwicky-"

 _"I know his Ebay page!"_ Elios remarked. _"I mean, wait, there's a lot of guys with that kind of name, right? So maybe-"_

"Yeah, he had an artifact or two there," Simmons grumbled, folding his arms. "Hold, did you buy anything from him?"

Elios held his chin in thought, " _Nah, a lot of it seemed kind of boring, to be honest."_

"Well, one of those were glasses from an ancestor of his that got hit by tracking coordinates for the Allspark fragments and some other artifacts. He nearly peed his pants when he got chased by a decepticon called Barricade...He was a police car."

All three turned to look at Prowl warily, who in turn just smirked. That didn't help.

"You'll get to see them soon."

Bumblebee looked the happiest they had seen him in a long time.

* * *

 

Maristella joined Optimus on the cliffside, looking out at the stars. He looked apologetic, but Maristella wan't having it as she leaned against his leg. " _I trust you."_

He inhaled sharply (do they really need oxygen?), and and let out something that she thought might've sounded like a fraction of a laugh. "Thank you..."

Prime likely wanted to say something, but he only furrowed his eyebrows, looking away from her. Maristella thought for a moment, taking ff her voice changer as she'd slowl began to become accustomed to. Then, glancing around first, she peeled off her mask, "Optimus, I really do trust you."

This probably wasn't the best idea, especially with that huge speech she gave to Faireborn earlier, but Optimus was one who was discreet, loyal, and kind. He knew what she believed in, how she felt, and what she needed. He was the one she would trust with her life, and her family's lives.

She waited for a moment, trying to understand his reaction. Then, she offered her hand, "Hello, my name is Maristella Milagros."

There was a small smile, and he shook hers back. Unexpectedly, instead of having her wrap one of her hands around a giant finger, he held her hand in his, careful and gentle, as though she were made of glass.

"I am Optimus Prime...How are you?"

Gaping, she then burst into laughter, tears running down her face from relief. Maristella must've seemed nuts. "Relieved, and, safe."

He nodded, waving out to the stars, bowing slightly. "Shall we observe constellations?"

That was becoming their nightly ritual. That, and sharing stories. But seeing his eyes light up? That was always better than any star.

"I'd love to."

He transformed into his vehicle mode, and they began talking again.

* * *

 

In the far, far distance, a blue, circular portal opened, and a figure leapt out of it. Humanoid in shape, they held out their wrist at a holographic map.

" _Time to save the world."_


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elios goes on a date with a decepticon, and has an inner war with himself.
> 
> And time travel stuff happens.

Elios felt bad, he felt confused, and a part of him wanted for his life to return to the simplicity it had before.

Yet, he was starting to like the craziness in his life. After all, the best way to live, is to live without regrets, right? And, maybe he'd regret it if he hadn't taken his sister's place the times she needed him to. Maybe he wouldn't have found friends with the Autobots. Maybe he wouldn't have met-

"You look more dashing than usual," the suave voice of an Aston Martin called out, opening the door. Elios' cheeks flushed, and the inner war inside him growing. He was disguising to fight the Decepticons, where Knockout was supposed to be the enemy within their ranks. But, there was something about him, that felt so right about all of this. "Something wrong?"

The human just shrugged, and smiled happily. "I'm paying this time."

Knockout rumbled something, and said, "Actually, I have something else in mind? But it's a surprise."

Elios began screaming on the inside, hoping Knockout wasn't going to reveal what and who he truly was. Instead, Knockout had taken Elios to see stars on the outer edges of town. Afterwards, they raced down the hill, causing Elios to laugh, his smile bright.

At the end of it, Knockout asked, "Elios, what are we?"

Elios' heart stopped. "I, I thought we're friends. Are we not?"

Knockout hummed, "And nothing else?"

This was wrong, so wrong. He was about to answer when a blue streak skated past them, followed by Chief Burns' police car. Elios had only caught a glimpse, but that person was human-sized, but looked almost cybertronian.

"What the hell?" Elios then saw one of the students from the town walking nonchalantly, wearing earbuds and rocking her head back and forth. He jumped out of the car, and raced to her, picking her up, and preventing her from getting hit by whatever that thing was. The teenager had wide eyes in shock and confusion as she was held in his arms. He set her down, searching for Knockout, and grateful that both the kid and his...Friend, were okay.

And that's when the blue light shined on him. " _You!"_

"What?" Elios responded, yelping as the being, who couldn't be older than Miko was, snapped handcuffs on him before he could react. Then, he felt similar to a potato bag as she carried him on her shoulders. Miko tried to help him, but the person carrying him misted something in her face, and Miko dropped, unconscious."Let go of-!"

He was misted in his face, and Elios coughed, his vision fading. Last thing he saw, was a glimpse of Knockout transforming into his more humanoid form. 

* * *

 

Knockout scowled, seeing the small femme holding Elios, who he had to check using scanners to make sure his human was still alive. From a short distance away, he could see that Elios wasn't the only human this  _thing_ had sprayed those strange chemicals onto. The police officer had also been hit, as well as the sparkling. As for that thing, it was looking at him with a tilted head.

" _You're, a decepticon?"_ That voice, was female. But there was something off about it. " _That wasn't mentioned in history books."_

From how its eyes crinkled, Knockout knew she was smiling and...What did she say? "What do you mean by that?"

 _"...You're supposed to be an Autobot. You'll see, someday,"_ she murmured, adjusting Elios on her shoulder. " _And you're a good one too. See you later!"_

The creature gave him a mock salute, and Knockout felt great rage stir inside him. Turning on his communicator, he said, "Breakdown, we have a situation."

* * *

 It  _had_ been a quiet night, seeing constellations and hearing stories from each other, but of course everything had to go downhill.

Maristella had the police scanner open when something fuzzed over the radio. "Uh, Optimus? What's-?"

The sound returned again, and dread filled the bottom of her stomach. _"We have a 207 on...Elios Milagros..."_

Static kept breaking the words up, but Maristella knew what a 207 was. Elios had been kidnapped.

" _..._ _Device of unknown origi...Armed and dangerous..."_

She had was about to say something to Optimus, when their communications system activated. "Optimus, Lennox was kidnapped. Some, portal just opened, and this, a person the size of a human, appeared...Wearing advanced cybertronian technology.

Maristella and Optimus looked at each other through his rear view mirror, likely thinking the same thing. She needed to stay calm, and focus. Turning on her voice changer again, she said, " _Can you check out another kidnapping? Elios Milagro. He's a friend of mine, in my civilian form. Police say it involved devices or unknown origins and-"_

At first, she thought it was the ground bridge. Instead, a teenage sized person covered in cybertronian armor appeared. In a ball made of energy, were Lennox, Chief Charlie Burns, Ofelia, Elios, Simmons, Fowler, Faireborn, and a couple of teenagers that Maristella couldn't recognize. There was one girl and one boy. The person carrying them sounded out of breath. Were they organic? She saluted them, " _Hey Boss Bot!"_

No one but the autobots called Optimus 'Boss Bot.' and sure enough, there was the emblem on her helmet. Optimus warily said, "Why are you taking these people?"

The being's hand fell, and she looked tired. Then, to both their surprises, she took off her helmet, confirming she was, in fact, organic, but those eyes-

"I'm Sari."

_"Yeah, you should be sorry for taking these people!"_

She blinked, "Uh, no, my name is actually Sari. Sari Sumdac. And, I'm from the future where Cybertronians and humans life together. And, I'm a techno-organic, one of the first of my kind. I was also the only one who could travel here from the year 2050."

Both Maristella and Optimus asked, "What?"

Inside the ball, some of the people began waking up, all freaking out at the sight of Sari, mostly screaming in terror.  Sari just rolled her eyes, slow clapping, "Yes, nice lungs you all have there. Okay, I'm from the future, and I need you guys to help me save it," Sari stated. "Now, I'm going to change all of your lives. See that semi-truck over there?" There were tentative nods. "That's an alien transforming robot. And that person inside him? Is called 'Squishy', and they're part of an agency that's supposed to stop bad guy transforming robots, who are also aliens."

Heads slowly turned, Chief Burns extremely befuddled the most of everyone. Well, even if the other Milagros family members didn't know about the bots' existence, they'd probably adjust really quickly.

The teenage boy raised his hand, "Yeah, I know. Sam Witwicky here. Guess what? I was part of the group that these guys came to. I had an artifact of the Primes?"

Ebay boy?

"The what?" the teenage girl asked, thoroughly confused. Then, something clicked. "Wait, good alien transforming robots? I'm Charlie, Charlie Watson! I found Bumblebee when he lost his memories!"

Oh, this person."So you met Bee first?" Sam asked. She nodded and he held up his hand, "Bee is best?"

She clapped it back. "Bee is best."

Simmons knocked on the forcefield, "I'm part of Sector Seven. You know, the guy who nearly died when the decepticons attacked?!"

Faireborn glared at Sari, "Marissa Faireborn, emissary with the autobots, and occasionally the decepticons."

Lennox nodded, "Yeah, I know Sam and Simmons. I fight alongside the autobots."

Fowler looked bored, "I'm the good robots' babysitter."

Charlie beamed, "Can I join?"

"Maybe."

"She's not authorized," Simmons argued.

"Neither is Squishy, technically."

The police chief was extremely pale. "I have  _no_ idea what's going on, but please let me live. My wife's expecting, as in she's pregnant."

So the only person there who didn't have some kind of direct contact, was the local police chief. Elios and Ofelia tried not to react, but their acting skills were somewhat decent when Optimus transformed. They matched the police chief's screaming before the latter fainted. See? adaptable.

"Something bad happened here in the past, and not only are those robots here involved, but these humans did something that changed everything. Now, whatever you did stop, is coming back. If we can't stop it, Earth and what's left of Cybertron, aka the robot aliens' homeworld, will no longer exist."

Chief Burns fainted, again.

 

"Oh boy," Sari sighed. "This is going to be a disaster-"

Why was no one allowed to finish sentences? To everyone's surprise, on the opposite side of the road, were Knockout and Breakdown. Elios was gaping, even paler than the police chief had been. Ofelia gave him a look, and whispered, "Don't tell me that's the Aston Martin you were talking about."

Why did Knockout looked like he was about to kill someone?...Probably because he was. "Let go of the human."

Sari glanced at the group in the ball, then back at the decepticons. "Which one?"

Knockout raised his canons, and Sari, lifted her arms to show arm blades made from blue energy, her helmet covering her head once more. Optimus stood next to her, guarding the humans, and Maristella? She got out her webshooters, and made sure she had ibprofen.

...This was NOT going to be fun.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly human shenanigans, and where people try to explain what's going on.

"HEY!" Sam yelled, pounding the forcefield. "Not sure about robots, or cyborgs, or whatever you are, but humans kind of need to breathe?!"

"Yelling isn't going to help," Charlie whispered harshly, wincing at the clashing of weaponry and lasers being shot. "Hey, is that person using  _web shooters_ to fight decepticons?"

Witwicky shrugged, "I got away from a satanic car using a frilly pink bike." He got a few looks at that. Shrugging again, he said, "Hey, I was desperate. This isn't exactly normal, y'know."

Simmons nodded, "Fair enough. Anybody got any ideas?"

Charlie took out a phone, and dialed something. "Cool, we have a signal in here. Anybody else want to try?"

Fowler threw his hands up in the air, and took out his. "This is bullshit."

"Damn it," Sam whimpered, "I left my phone on the side table."

"Why-?"

"BECAUSE IT'S MY ALARM CLOCK!"

Ofelia rolled her eyes. "Fine, someone contact these 'autobots', and somebody else get possibly human reinforcements?"

The cop, Chief Burns, woke up again, pale as he saw the fighting. "I'm stuck in a weird movie, with giant alien robots, James Bond dressed as Spiderman, and the Terminator!"

"...That actually sounds kind of cool," Charlie said.

"No, it's a bad fanfic!" Simmons yelped.

"You read fanfiction?"

"BITE ME!" Ofelia gave him a look, pursed her lips, and bit his arm. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"You said to bite you."

"I DIDN'T MEAN THAT LITERALLY!"

"Will you two be quiet?" Charlie said. The phone picked up something. "Hey Bee. Uh, Sam and I have been kidnapped, and there are decepticons fighting near us. I know I wasn't supposed to contact you again, but I think there are at least three guys here about to pee their pants, and I  _don't_ want to be in this cage thingy when they do."

There were concerned and angry whirring noises that were audible, and another voice spoke, "We are on our way. Autobots, roll out!"

Charlie mouthed, "'Roll out'?"

Sam gaped, "How do you  _not_ know their version for 'Avengers Assemble'?"

"I only knew Bee, and a few decepticons that nearly killed me!"

Elios leaned over, "Okay, how about you both stop screaming, so we don't use up all the air in here? That'd be really, really helpful."

There was another loud crashing noise, and the bubble they were in was hit, sending them skyward. Charlie saw both the cop and Sam paling even more than they had before. "Oh, don't you dare throw up. Don't you dare throw up!"

To everyone's relief, and horror, they were caught by Knockout, who had leapt in the air to catch them. He grunted as many of the humans screamed in terror. "Stop that. I'm just here for one of you, and I don't care what happens to the rest. Be quiet, and I'll let you all go."

Simmons wheezed, "Which one of us do you want?"

Knockout looked directly at Elios, whose eyes widened. "...KO?"

"Bingo," Knockout said, facial features softening. "Uh, I have a lot to explain."

Elios slowly nodded, "Uh, yeah, some explanation would be very nice, thank you."

Fowler gestured at Knockout, facing Elios. "You know him?"

"Uh," Elios swallowed, "We uh, we've been dating? I thought he was a human with a really beautiful Aston Martin. Apparently, he's the Aston Martin."

Ofelia looked ready to tear his head off. "You've been dating, a talking car."

"I, uh, wasn't exactly aware he was a talking car." Kind of, he wasn't lying though because he did  _not_ know what or who Knockout was when they first began meeting up. Afterwards, things got really weird, and really complicated. "But, he's nice, and charming and...I'm sorry, I have so many questions right now."

"I'll do my best to answer later," Knockout scowled, getting behind a large dune. He took out a scanner, narrowing his eyes in focus. "I'm going to get you out of here." Everyone in there were glaring at Elios, including his own cousin, who was about ready to cry. Knockout paused, giving a rare look of guilt. "And if you don't want to keep seeing me, that'll be okay. I just want you safe right now."

Elios then did possibly the stupidest thing he could. "The person I was dating was nice, and decent, and so many things I liked, and that person is you. So, I'm willing to try, as long as you both tell me what's going on, and you promise not to hurt the other humans."

"Knockout, decent?" Fowler choked out. "What reality are you living in?"

Knockout again looked conflicted, like he wanted to yell at Fowler, but something else as well. This time, Elios wasn't crying, he was pissed. "He's saved my life, and I at least owe hearing him out."

"Wanna bet this guy's the one who got the Earth into trouble in the first place?" Sam huffed. "And dude, you're okay with dating a car?"

Before anyone could answer, a portal opened, and out rolled a whole lot of angry vehicles. Knockout was pained, looking between the ball where Elios was, and the autobots. But, he carried it, running to Bumblebee and Ratchet, and gave it to the latter. " _Please_ , help them."

He turned then, peeking back at Elios' confusion, and transformed into his vehicular mode, driving away with Breakdown. It was highly unlikely he and his human would ever meet again.

* * *

 

"Sorry about that," Sari said, turning off the forcefield.

The teenagers fell out first, followed by the other humans. Both beamed at Bumblebee, and called out, "Bee!"

They ran to him, hugging the autobot as if their lives depended on it. Charlie was crying, "I missed you so much."

"It's great to see you again, Bee," Sam chuckled, his eyes watering a little.

Ironhide checked on Lennox, and in the larger group of autobots, came a jet like autobot. "Marissa!"

"Thundercracker," she whispered, running to him. Apparently there were hugs going all around.

Meanwhile the humans who didn't know, or were  _not_ supposed to know, were visibly uncomfortable.

Squishy regarded everyone carefully. " _So, are these all the autobots?"_

Optimus sighed, "Bumblebee, you did not have to-"

Bumblebee, as in the adorably wonderful little autobot everyone loved, narrowed his eyes at Optimus. " _...We protect...Them...We are family...No one gets left behind, or forgotten...Found it all... It's little, and broken, but still good."_ Hugging his humans even more closely, but carefully, he added, " _Yeah, still good._ "

Optimus looked around, exhausted as he saw all of the humans greeting their bots. Sari was eyeing Bumblebee, Prowl, and Bulkhead longingly. Actually, she was looking at most of them longingly, as though she wanted hugs too.

"Im sorry, but I really need your guys' help," she gave a brief introduction of herself to them, and further explained, "See, there's this thing trying to kill  _everyone_ in the future, and you all help to defeat it in the past. It's come back, and we need to know how it's supposed to be stopped."

No one was happy. Everyone was pissed. Oh, and some had the strong urge to throttle her. Ofelia pinched the bridge of her nose, "Okay, can you quit the pronoun game? It's getting really tiresome."

"That's just the thing, no one in my time is absolutely sure if its who we suspect, but we do know that the Earth is starting to cave in on itself. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,  and tsunamis are killing us. They killed..." She couldn't meet any of their eyes until she breathed in and out. "The Optimus in my time said that you guys were all involved, but but the autobots' memory processes were all damaged in a fight with Megatron, so things are literally blurry. I was sent here, because I don't exist yet. I was the only one who could."

"And why couldn't you explain that  _before_ you kidnapped us?"

Sari winced, "Because, what's happening in the future, is about to happen now according to our records. It was better to get all of you and tell you at the same time."

"So...We're going to work with super secret agents, teenagers, giant alien transforming robots, a police chief, and a nerd Spider Man wannabe," Ofelia deadpanned. "Best day, ever. Oh, and we don't even know what we're up against. So, why us?"

"Well, not sure the original reason, but all of you have connections to cybertronians," Sari said. "The Witwicky family found Megatron and had Prime artifacts with them for centuries." Sam was uncomfortable with the attention he was getting. "Charlie was the first to truly welcome cybertronians when she let Bumblebee recover with her. Simmons and Lennox were the first military people to greet them, besides Jack Burns, but he passed away and, that's partially why you're here, Charlie Burns. He left something with you."

Chief Charlie Burns, blinked, "Do you mean the glasses he gave me?"

Ratchet pulled up a hologram, "Are these them?"

"Yes, how-"

"The Lenses of Alchemist Prime," Optimus rumbled. "They allow the wearer to see through anything, including into the spiritual realm."

"...Wicked," Sam commented, squeaking when Charlie elbowed him playfully.

"Ofelia and Elios are descendants of humans who used cybertronian technology. The autobots already have the Scythe from there, but there's more underneath your ancestral home."

Lennox winced, "And the person who went with me, got amnesia. So, if they saw something and I didn't, we're screwed."

Recognition sparked from Elios' and Ofelia's eyes, but they let their expressions do the talking. Maristella did her best not to react, and Optimus slowly nodded, reassuring both her and the others, "Then we will find another way to solve this. Continue, Sari Sumdac."

"Marissa, Fowler, and Simmons have spent a lot of time with the autobots, but Fowler was once kidnapped by the decepticons, and they...Tortured him to get answers. Unknowingly, some of those 'tools', did something to him."

"...Please don't tell me I'm radioactive," Fowler squeaked.

"No, but those more affected by cybertronian technology of any kind," she started. Then, she gestured to herself, "Let's just say it's starts to awaken something in you. Spoilers. But, the same goes to Marissa and Simmons. It also might be happening to Squishy."

Sam raised a hand, "Uh, Bee lived with me for a few years, and I got more than zapped by some decepticon stuff. Does that mean-?"

"Yeah, you're prone to it too," Sari admitted. "But, don't blame the autobots. It's supposed to happen anyways, because of humanity's origins. Our species, are kind of like really distant cousins. Actually, that might be partially the reason why that happens to everyone here. It's not just that you're related, it's that you've all been the ones most exposed to cybertronian technology."

Ratchet scoffed, "How could we possibly be related to bio organisms and humans at that?"

Sari bit her lip, "Has anyone talked about Unicron, yet?"

The silence was filled with a mixture of expressions and moods.

 

 

"I'm sorry, what do unicorns have to do with this?"

 


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really need to edit the tags here.

 

_** Ratchet scoffed, "How could we possibly be related to bio organisms and humans at that?" ** _

_** Sari bit her lip, "Has anyone talked about Unicron, yet?" ** _

_** The silence was filled with a mixture of expressions and moods. ** _

__

__

_** "I'm sorry, what do unicorns have to do with this?" ** _

 

* * *

 

Sari cleared her throat, twiddling her fingers anxiously, "Okay, here on Earth, dogs and cats once shared a common ancestor, but along the way, they separated into completely different species. However, there will always be some lingering or buried DNA that was still from that ancestor, making them really, really distant cousins. Oh, bears too. All those guys are _very_ distantly related."

Elios raised a hand, "Carnivora?"

"That's it," Sari grinned, pointing at him. "Well, the same goes for humanity and cybertronians, in a really weird way."

What," Ofelia said. "Did someone crash here on the planet, and allowed us to evolution into people?"

"Kind of? Cybertronians can transform and evolve as much as they need to, as long as they follow their own genetic template. Humans can technically change too, our adaptability and also to change over time is similar." Sari smiled softly then. "I was originally a protoform, or a basic cybertronian baby without an official spark. My dad, who was a scientist, interacted with it, and it absorbed his DNA, making me without him intending to."

"Excuse me if I call BS," Simmons stated.

Sam frowned, "It's kind of possible. At some point while I was still with Bee, I broke my distant grandfather's spectacles on accident. At the time, I began seeing and hearing things, my brain trying to process things in ways I couldn't imagine. According to the Autobots, I even spoke cybertronian a few times, even though I didn't know the language, or come across it in the first place. It hurt, a lot, and I almost died, but the fact that it happened in the first place? For a while, technically I  _was_ part cybertronian. It was like the energy was a horcrux."

Ratchet coughed into his hand, trying to keep a stoic expression.

" _There' s also the Apex Armor and the Scythe of Amalgous Prime,"_   Squishy stated, sharing a look with Optimus. _"For some reason, humans can wield those those things, and it always was strange when those things adapted to fit our respective sizes."_

"So, who's humanity's ancestor?" Charlie asked.

Sari Sumdac had an extremely serious expression. "Earth was formed around an evil being, the brother of Primus, Unicron."

The autobots suddenly stiffened. As for Sam, he asked, "What, we're part unicorn?"

Squishy shook his head, " _Uni_ cron _, is basically a corrupt cybertronian deity. He's their chaos bringer, lord of the undead, and evil itself. Oh, and he's got horns on his head."_

"SO WE'RE THE SPAWN OF SATAN?!" Sam yelped.

Ofelia scoffed, although her eyes conveyed her fear, "No, we're the spawn of a satanic, robotic unicorn."

"That, doesn't make it any better," Sam groaned. Charlie pat his back in the attempt to comfort him. "Why does my life keep turning out to be part of a big lie?"

Sari sighed, facing the autobots. "Land was formed around him, volcanoes included, and some of the first volcanoes may have created the vapors needed for water, or at the very least the combination of those things helped create life here on Earth. All kinds of species grew, all changing over time, evolving, transforming themselves to suit their environment. Sound familiar?"

Some of the autobots were confused or scared. Optimus remained utterly calm. "How did you discover this?"

"Dark energon, Unicron's blood," Sari said. "It appeared when I was first with you all in the future. All cybertronians were revealed to the rest of the world when you had to protect humanity from walking cybertronian corpses. Like Squishy said, Unicron's the Lord of the Undead."

Arcee stepped forward, "Why not just read the Covenant of Primus? It has all that was the past, and prophecies of what may be."

Charlie leaned over to Sam, "This is all a bit freaky. It was easier to process giant vehicle alien robots than this."

He just nodded, Marissa at his side, and the agents taking in all the information best they could.

Sari shook her head, "That, and a lot of the artifacts were destroyed, deemed too powerful for anyone to use. And, if you see it now, there's a chance it could erase my future, where cybertronians and humans live together, both on Earth and Cybertron."  _That_ caught everyone's attention. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you how, no matter how much I want to. What I do know and what I've been told to tell you, is that Earth is about to face a crisis, endangering everyone here, and that Optimus told me it was the same one that the future will face."

"...And we all have the potential to, turn into something like you?" Elios asked quietly.

"Few do, but yes," Sari said. "But, our races are meeting each other more often, interacting, so there's a prediction that more humans may change into something like me. We don't turn into cars or transform in the ways autobots do, but you can have human food or energon, where the last one would normally kill you. We're not cybertronians, and we'll never be them, but whether that's good or bad, is up to all of you."

The autobots had been quiet the entire time. Hearing that their friends were descendants of Unicron was taking a lot on them, but there also was some hope seeing as cybertron was revived, and that the respective species would live in piece.

Sari stepped forward. "We were an accident that Unicron didn't predict when he took his little dirt nap, and even if he's our creator, we owe him nothing. None of us knew who he was or what it meant until my time."

"I do not doubt you, Sari Sumdac," Optimus murmured. "What did you plan on doing?"

"Help you find the remaining artifacts, figure out what's coming, and protecting these guys from dying," Sari said, gesturing to the humans. "We already know where the Lenses are, so someone could go with Burns?"

An autobot stepped forward, "Burns, right? I'm Hot Rod."

He transformed into a Lamborghini Centenario, scaring the poor human. "O-okay? So, we're uh, we're saving the world?"

"That's the plan."

Lennox turned to Ironhide, Prowl, and Ultra Magnus, "Magnus, you can guard Ofelia and Elios, and when we get to their old home, Ironhide, Prowl, and I can help in the search."

Ultra Magnus obviously didn't like following orders instead of giving them, but he agreed. Transforming into his military grade vehicle form, the Milagros relatives cautiously entered. Fowler frowned, "Charlie and Sam can go with Bee to Burns' place. I'll stick with Bulkhead and Wheeljack, Marissa's with Thundercracker, and Squishy, you're with Optimus."

Blurr came out of nowhere, "CanIgetthefasthuman?Sari,wasit?"

Sari tensed, blinking at Blurr for a moment, then smirked. Her armor covering her once more, she got into a stance and said, "Race ya back to the town."

They both disappeared, and Ratchet frowned, "I don't think it's a good idea for those two to be together."

* * *

 

 

Blurr watched as Sari left the clothing store, looking normal with the exception of her glowing eyes. "Howdidyougettothepastinthefirstplace?"

From her sleeve, she took out a small, metallic hourglass. "Vector Prime's Blades of Time. By the way, why do you guys keep giving things names that they aren't? Seriously, the Scythe was apparently an ocarina, and you call blades, hourglasses. It makes no sense whatsoever."

The autobot had to phrase his words carefully, making sure they could be better understood. "What did you think of us when you first met us?"

"'Oh cool, those are giant robots! I hoped they smash things'," Sari giggled. Her smile dimmed. "Then, I heard about all the other people here in the past, and realized it was my turn to protect all of you, since..."

"Since?"

She looked upwards at the sky, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "My life is extended  _and_ shortened because of what I am. I can't live as long as any autobot, but I'll live far longer than any human. Before I knew that, I thought maybe my life would be short enough that I could be forgotten if the memories of me hurt too much. Then I thought I could live long enough, and protect my loved ones for all time, and I remembered that every human I'd ever known, including my dad, would be dead in a blink of an eye. I'm not even sure I'll be able to see him when I get back. I hope I can."

Blurr's rearview mirror faced her, "Well, I'll remember you. If I forget, I'm pretty sure that I'll give you a hug anyways."

"...Thanks Blurr."

He turned on the radio, "Hey, what happens to the bots with humans?"

Sari didn't meet her eyes to the rear view mirror. "The same kind that happens with all humans and cybertronians, there's never enough time."

* * *

 

Maristella waited for Optimus to say something, anything. "Are humans considered your demons now?"

"Demons are fallen angels," Optimus stated. "You haven't fallen."

She felt her cheeks burn. Wasn't he supposed to be a dork? As in, bad at this kind of stuff? Maristella had been questioning herself constantly when it came to their interactions, wondering if he was speaking wisely, as a friend, or maybe something more. But, for all she knew, humans could be viewed as the autobots' pets, endangered pets. Then, there were moments where it didn't seem like that at all.

Best steer clear of this conversation until she understood more. "...What's the relationship between Thundercracker and Marissa? How'd they meet?"

"She was an Earth scientist studying Mars. She tracked us when we first crashlanded on Earth, and Thundercracker said he wanted her to be his charge, on account of how brave she was."

"He thought she was interesting?"

Optimus smirked, "Not at first. He didn't want the human running off and getting herself killed from trying to fight decepticons."

Whelp, that sounded familiar. "And uh, their relationship?"

The autobot paused, "She is his charge. They are friends, and, Thundercracker has been, attempting, to court her."

Maristella should not have been drinking water at that time. Or really anything since choking was not fun. "W-what?"

"They are courting. They are not very public about it, but they do not hide it either. They adopted a dog. His name is Buster."

"Well, that  _is_ a big step," Maristella conceded. "But, how does one manage that kind of relationship?"

Wait, she should really, really get off that topic. "It is unusual to most, even among our kind, but as long as the parties can grant consent and there is mutual respect, it is, tolerated, for a lack of better words."

She wasn't sure if he was insinuating something or not. Damn it, why couldn't she be smarter, or at least more sociable? Maybe people would make some sense then!

Change the topic. Change the topic! "...Apparently my brother was dating a decepticon. More accurately, Knockout. What do we do about that?"

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then that is enough," Optimus said softly. "And Knockout was obviously concerned for Elios. Knockout even left your brother with the autobots when he couldn't him. I think he might care for Elios as much as Elios might with him."

She grimaced, "He's still a decepticon, and we both know just because he has feelings for Elios, that he's going to switch sides."

"No, that is a decision that Knockout should make for himself," Optimus agreed. "What did you think of the other humans?"

She shrugged, "I grew up with Chief Burns after he moved here from Griffin Rock. He and his wife are expecting their fourth child. It's supposed to be a boy. I think they're going to call him Cody."

"Does it mean anything?" After she gave him a puzzled look, he said. "Your name, is Star of the Sea. It took a while for names not to translate to their original meaning. However, I do not have 'Cody' in my system."

Maristella coughed, "Wait, so every time someone gives you their name, you hear the literal meaning of it?"

"Yes?" Optimus said. "For instance, Lennox means 'with many trees', and Agent Fowler's name means 'Bird Hunter'...That name concerned us greatly."

She couldn't stop from laughing. "Holy moly, that's just-"

"Thundercracker sometimes calls Miss Fairborne his 'Sea Fairy'. We did not tell her until she had known us for a year. It was quite amusing."

He was smiling while she was laughing. "Yours translates to Miraculous Star of the Sea. It's fascinating."

Oh shit, there was that oddly possible flirtatious tone again. Her smile faded, but the pounding of her heart didn't.

"Thank you, Optimus."

* * *

 

 

Elios looked over the desert landscapes, his heart aching. Prowl moved close to him. "You miss him, don't you?"

"Is it really so unbelievable?" Elios murmured, fist clenched over his sternum. Raking a hand through his hair, he laughed wetly, "He liked horrible horror movies, always insisted on paying for meals...We raced whenever we could, and he made me laugh and...I feel torn. I want to see him again, but I know I shouldn't."

Prowl hummed, his head lifting and optics widening. "What would you do if you could have five minutes with him?"

"...I'd say I'm sorry for hurting him, I'd want to ask him things he could honestly answer to about who and what he is, and, and I want to know, truly, why he might like me. I'd tell him, that I care about him, and, when he asked me what we were, I was scared to tell him I loved him, but I think I'd have said it anyways...God, I'm insane."

Prowl was still looking forward, "Did you hear that, Knockout?" Elios stiffened, gaping at the sight of the transformed Aston Martin. Prowl grinned, "I'll give you two five minutes."

The human wasn't even able to get a word in as Knockout spoke. "I hurt us both, and I never intended to cause you pain. I'm Knockout, I'm from the planet Cybertron, where I defected to the decepticons for their original purpose of finding equal footing. I stuck with them because I wanted more freedom, and to do things, some bad, that I couldn't do before. I'm still with them, because I'm scared of what will happen if I try to leave. I'm a doctor for them, a surgeon. It's how I could tell you were good with cars. You always treated them respectfully, as if you treasured them."

He smiled a little, "I'm a bit of a vehicle enthusiast myself. I care about you because you've never been anything but polite to me and others, which is an odd trait. Or at the very least, you have a hard time being rude, as if you have to force yourself to. I like it when you speak in Spanish because it sounds like a rumbling engine, the kind that helps me sleep. You're kind, gentle, and, everything I'm not, but what I used to wish to be."

Clenching his metallic hands, he added, "No matter what you chose, I would respect it, because you've always respected me."

Elios was an idiot, a big one at that. "...Is it true that decepticons don't care about humans?"

"Yes," Knockout murmured sorrowfully.

"Then you're not a true decepticon," Elios said, meeting Knockout's optics with his own eyes. "Don't base your decision on me but, please consider what you really want, for  _yourself_. Otherwise, I'll be waiting for you, Knockout. I think I always will. And, if you do come back, there are some things I'd like to tell you."

Knockout raised a brow, trying to smile, but it came halfhearted. "Oh?"

"...Do you like my jacket?"

Confusion appeared, "Yes, why?"

Elios coughed, making sure no one else was around. Then he did the stupidest thing he could ever do. He walked up to Knockout, who was very, very still. Trembling, he said, "Because, it's made of boyfriend material." Knockout's optics widened in realization. "...If you want it to."

"I," Knockout whispered, reaching out for the human. But, he stopped himself. "I'll think about it, and I, I won't tell," He paused. "Elios? Can you say something to me in Spanish? It can be anything."

The human didn't mind when Knockout didn't explain why Elios speaking Spanish was still nice for the decepticon.

 _ **"You're the most beautiful person I have ever met,"**_ Elios said shyly, knowing that Knockout understood his words. " _ **And whatever happens, I hope that the rest of the world will see how amazing you are as I see you now."**_

Knockout's form was shaking, and he quickly drove away, not looking back. Perhaps Elios was wrong, but he could've sworn the decepticon was blushing when he left. Prowl returned, "So, how'd it go?"

Elios couldn't stop himself from crying. God, he really had lost his mind.

But, deep down, he couldn't help but trust Knockout, perhaps just as much as he was sure Maristella did with Optimus.

Hopefully Knockout was worth that risk.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "...You gave us more than five minutes."
> 
> "Hmm, must've lost track of time."
> 
> "You're terrible at this kind of thing."
> 
> "Made you happy, didn't it?"
> 
> ...
> 
> Yeah, he did.


	28. Chapter 28

Knockout tried to pretend everything was as per usual business aboard the Nemesis, but that scrapling's and Elios' words were getting to him.

Looking around, he truly began to ask himself what he wanted. Everyone here, even Megatron, treated him as less of a person. He always felt afraid of Soundwave, he hated Airachnid, he was just a tool for Megatron, and with Starscream it was a constant battle to either manipulate, or be manipulated. And Breakdown...He couldn't leave his partner behind, no matter how difficult things got. Breakdown was the only good thing in this miserable place. He even came when Knockout begged him to help save his human.

...Since when had he started thinking of Elios as  _his_ human? And, Elios loved him? Knockout could live infinitely compared to how short Elios' life was, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think of the future. In years from now, didn't he want to say he took a chance on a small bit of happiness, no matter how short it was, or did he want to stay here? 

"You look confused," Breakdown commented. Seeing Knockout's expression once more, he considered what to say next. "...I'm your partner. Where you go, so will I, no matter where it may be."

Knockout gaped, and then laughed bitterly. "I don't want to join the enemy, Breakdown."

"Then don't."

"But if we stay here, what kind of a life will we have."

Breakdown inclined his head, simply saying, "Where you go, I will follow. We're partners, Knockout. You can't destroy that, no matter what happens. So, I'll always be there."

"...I don't want to be here anymore."

Everything the decepticons had once stood for, was left in the ashes back on Cybertron. They had lost all meaning, and Knockout? He was going to choose the same choice he made long ago, to be free.

"Then let's go. I'll help you."

* * *

 

"Nice place," Sam commented at seeing the two story building, hands in his pockets.

Chief Burns just frowned, "Let's go."

Charlie walked past Sam, humming to herself as they got inside, where a woman was resting on the sleeper sofa. The chief paused, and bent down to kiss his wife's forehead, tucking her in. Charlie was beaming and Sam just blinked at her rounded belly. Both of their footsteps were quieter as they moved to the attic, the latter helping the former move things.

"Y'know, the last time I looked for glasses," Sam began to whisper. "The area in front of my house got destroyed, and Ironhide asked if he could shoot my parents and my dog."

Both Chief Burns and Charlie gaped. "Why?"

"He found my mom and dad annoying 'cause they kept on blathering and trying to figure out if I was smoking weed, which I wasn't but I almost agreed with them on the possibility. I mean, you have to have a pretty weird mind to come up with this stuff." He paused, "Oh, and my dog peed on Ironhide."

The two others made disgusted faces, but continued their work. Charlie let out an excited noise as she took out slightly large spectacles, but jumped a little when they transformed into a size better suited for her.

"Neat."

Sam was stepping back, "No offense, but I've had my share of those things. They do weird things to your head, and apparently your DNA."

Burns nodded, and Charlie rolled her eyes, "You don't think it'd be kind of cool to be part robot? I mean, did you see Sari's swords and blasters?"

"Yes," both males said. 

"Wimps," she sighed, putting the lenses in her pocket. "C'mon, Bee and Hot Rod are waiting outside."

Bee greeted them with happy whirs. Hot Rod flared his lights a little, "I need to stay here, to guard Mr. Burns, to guard you."

"Wouldn'y you be a little obvious for decepticons to see?" Sam asked. "I mean, you'd kind of lead them to us, especially with those symbols on you."

"Good point," Charlie said, watching as Hot Rod scanned one of the chief's vehicles, and carefully hid the autobot insignia. "That was a good idea Sam."

Buckling their seat belts, Sam scoffed, "Why does everyone expect me to be stupid?"

"Well, you kind of scream and yell a lot," Charlie shrugged. "And whine, and-"

"I GET IT!" Sam then facepalmed, and said in a quieter voice. "Sorry."

Charlie pat his back. "Don't worry, we can work on it."

He smiled without having to depend on seeing Bee. "Thanks?"

She smiled back, and let Bee know they were ready to go. The autobot whirred again, and both teens yelped as a circular portal full of color appeared. Driving in, they saw the Autobot base for the first time. Sam ran over to Ratchet, and the medic snorted, unable to restrain the gentle nostalgia there. Both Bee and Sam introduced Charlie to him, and oddly enough, Ratchet didn't feel an urge to tell a human to stay out of his business.

Instead, he pointed both to the snack area on the mezzanine.

* * *

 

Sari instructed Blurr to go to a specific location near the local high school, her eyes resting on a trio of students, all of different ages and skillsets. None were looking at each other, but she knew those kids were destined for something more than this boring life. She just hadn't expected to see them at all. Maybe that's why she panicked at the sight of Miko Nakadai...The girl was like the Captain America of coolness, but Japanese.

Raf, Jack, and Miko were going to change things. Blurr asked, "Whatchalookingat?"

"Those three aren't part of this story, but they're gonna do big things," Sari commented, mouthing to herself, 'What happened to Raf's mohawk?'. "And, I never got to be a kid, not really."

"Howcome?"

She sighed, "Dad was superprotective and tried to keep me away from the rest of the world, so I rarely interacted with other kids. Then when my powers were activated...Techno organics aren't exactly common, especially with _how_ I became this way. I could never relate to anyone, 'cept for the autobots."

"...Want to meet them? Just for a couple of hours?"

Sari gaped, then smirked, "I always wanted to play metal guitar with Miko, and cause a little chaos. This is going to be so awesome!"

Before she left, Blurr asked, "Who is she?"

Sari beamed with excitement, "She's gonna be the first human Wrecker, and she's going to rock your world."

Somehow, with their own musical instruments ranging from Miko's guitar, Raf's music remix tapes,  Jack banging rhythmic patterns on his hollow pencil box, and Sari singing horribly, they managed to make their own band.

It was beautiful.

* * *

 

Ofelia was going to strangle Elios. He and Prowl had been gone for at least an hour and a half now, and it was making her anxious. But, then she saw his heartbroken expression. Now? She had a different throat to throttle.

"What'd he do?"

Elios shook his head, wiping his eyes. "We, we just talked."

"And just talking made you break down and cry?" Lennox asked, concerned.

He chuckled, "And I thought I was the one who liked puns."

"Elios..."

Ofelia's cousin was visibly tired. It reminded her of Optimus Prime, having so much put onto him without true rest. Maristella had mentioned it to her earlier, explaining that it was partially why she and Optimus went stargazing so often...Because he needed some peace every once in a while. Who knew how right Maristella could be. After each time they gazed at the skies, Optimus looked more and more alive instead of stoic. But, maybe that hope returning to his expression wasn't entirely because of the stars. Or, at least he kept staring at one in particular, and no one dared to point it out.

She frowned, thinking of Elios' twin and Optimus. It was, weirdly enough, not the concept of what they were, but rather  _who_. After all, Elios had been falling for a decepticon, not an autobot. "...You know he's not a good guy, right?"

"I know, but he's not evil either," Elios whispered. "He's himself, and that's why I care so much. I care about the awkward, romantic bot that made me feel a little more whole...That made me feel safer."

Great, now she felt like shit. "Great, how many human/cybertronian couples are there?"

"Currently, one," Ultra Magnus commented, shivering. "Human interfacing is disturbing."

Ofelia nodded, "Thank God, I'm asexual."

"Asexual?"

"It means she's not interested in 'human interfacing'," Lennox snorted, leaning against a wall. The ground rumbled, and everyone looked up to see a giant jet above them, with a purple insignia. "Shit."

Elios and Lennox were able to make it to Ultra Magnus' vehicle form, but Ofelia? She found herself cornered. The jet transformed, and the demonic robot shark stood in front of her. "Ah, are you the one causing such chaos?"

Ofelia rolled her eyes, not impressed, "Go screw yourself."

Needless to say, Megatron did not take that well. Narrowing his eyes, he reached to grab her, only for Ofelia to take out her pocket knife, and stab it into his right optic. As he roared and clammered to get it out, she kicked it in further, and ran for it, flipping him off the whole way. Lennox wheezed, "Do you have a death wish?! That was a decepticon!"

"Since when have you known me to get scared so easily?" she retorted merrily, her smile unnerving.

Getting inside, she ignored Elios when he whimpered, "Why are all the women in my family so violent?"

"Because for a long, long time, it's been a necessity for us to survive," Ofelia murmured.

Ultra Magnus drove so quickly it began to affect the passengers. Elios was turning a bit green, and Ofelia remained as stoic as possible. Prowl sighed through their communications link.

"Miss Milagros, I do believe you've left a strong impression on the leader of the decepticons."

Wait, that was the decepticon boss? She just thought he'd been a really giant decepticon that was full of himself, kind of like Starscream. There were blasting noises outside, and Ultra Magnus was swerving. "I think you pissed him off."

"No duh,  _pendejos,"_ she grumbled. "Why he'd come to us in the first place?" Thinking, she turned to Elios, "I told you your boyfriend was bad news."

Elios paled, the pain in his features growing. "He, he..."

Tears were flowing freely. Ofelia didn't look at him, not even when Lennox tried to help Elios. Instead, she got one of the weapons on the walls inside Ultra Magnus (likely provided by the US military), and climbed through a sun roof, which had been difficult to open. Up there, she folded her arms, quickly getting bored of Megatron. She yawned, and lifted the bazooka-like object. "...Say 'ello, to my little friend."

Ooh, him getting blasted was kind of like fireworks. "Hey, Elios, is there popcorn down there? I need some."

"WHAT IS WITH YOU?!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I originally tried to write Knockout and Breakdown calling each other brothers, but I can't. These two are always going to be something either you can't really define, don't need to, or if you do define it, they'll be so much more than what people were able to say on a TV show.
> 
> I still kind of ship them, and there's no way I'm having Breakdown and/or Cliffjumper die in this story. So let's just see where this goes.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Charlie, Sam, Lennox, Ofelia, Prowl, and Bee explore ancient ruins near the Milagros ancestral home...And make a few discoveries, both old and new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam's going to faint in this chapter.

Sam and Charlie had joined the Milagros cousins and Lennox as they moved throughout the underground area, which ended up with a couple of dead bodies being thrown at them, and Sam jumping into Charlie's arms with a terrified squeak.

She smirked at him, "What's up, Scooby?"

"Hey, I'm Scooby!" Lennox protested before his smile faded. "Well, I was."

Ofelia had punched the last corpse in midair, decapitating it in the process. And she had done it with a completely straight face. "You and my cousin, Maristella, you came down here."

It wasn't a question. Lennox couldn't meet her eyes. "Yes, we did. We didn't expect any of this, just to locate an artifact. Who knew it'd be the Scythe disguised as an ocarina?"

Prowl was the lightest and most flexible of the autobots, and Bee the next to last smallest of the autobots. To everyone's regret, Ironhide was left with Ultra Magnus, outside, trying not to get caught by any of the Milagros' family members. Elios was playing politics with said family, only having to dodge a sandal being thrown once. Ofelia blinked at shadows being projected by the autobots, and narrowed her eyes.

"Neither of you can fly, can you?"

Bee made a saddened whir, and Prowl gazed upwards. "I can climb fairly well. What did you have in mind?"

"I think there are geoglyphs in here." At the others' confusion, she elaborated, "You know the images made in South America that only those from high above can see? The Nazca Lines? That's what I'm talking about."

Sam screeched again, running through, "Why are there flying bodies everywhere?!"

"Why aren't you more cautious about where you step?" Ofelia retorted. "We all know there are booby traps down here. Personally, I like living."

Sam grumbled, "Sure doesn't seem like that."

"Got something to say?"

Her gaze basically said, 'If you dare'.

"...No, I'm good."

"I found something," Prowl called down. "And, you were right, in a way. But these resemble more of geoglyphs found in areas in Europe."

"Spaniards," Ofelia stated.

Lennox raised eyebrows, "Wait, how many geoglyphs exist?"

"Thousands, all over the world," Ofelia commented, narrowing her eyes. "Maristella told me years ago about them. By the way, haven't cybertronians been interacting with people on earth for thousands of years? And geoglyphs can only be seen up in extremely high places? As in, the sky?"

"I get it," Lennox grumbled, not happy with the situation. "Prowl, what do your robot eyes see?"

All the humans turned to Lennox, scowling. "I can't believe you just used that reference."

"Not Isengard," Prowl said slowly. "But, I do see where the body flinging mechanisms might be. The lighting is different here, and certain coffins are-" Sam screamed again. Charlie helped him, Bee walking over worriedly and giving his humans hugs. "...Well, that confirms it. The coffins shine differently, likely made of different materials than the others."

"BUT WHY THE BODY FLINGING?!"

Charlie shrugged, "Well, maybe this place wasn't meant for humans? The walkways are pretty wide, Bumblebee and Prowl haven't activated any of the booby traps because their large size prevents them from activating those, and there are huge drawings that can only be seen from above?"

Bee made a cheering noise with his radio. Sam pouted, "Okay, can Prowl please point us  _away_ from the freaky body flinging things? How has no one died from-?" He paused, eyes wide at the sight of a corpse wearing more modern clothing. Part of his skull was bashed in, the body on top of him fresher than others. "...Oh hell, no!"

Charlie didn't complain when Sam hung onto her, and Lennox walked over, inspecting the corpses. "The one on top is ancient, and the other one is wearing clothing from somewhere in the late nineteen sixties to early nineteen seventies."

"How do you know that?"

"My wife's a music connoisseur," Lennox deadpanned. "Kidding, I was born in the nineteen seventies. My parents kept old memorabilia around. Just thought I should try to lighten the mood."

"There's not a lot you can do to 'lighten the mood', with all these corpses," Sam said stiffly, letting go of Charlie, who grabbed him back. "Charlie?"

She shook her head, "Even I have breaking points. This is messed up."

"But it does remind us that this place is dangerous," Lennox commented, sharing a glance with Ofelia. "If we get hit by one of these the wrong way, we could end up like the guy with a broken skull."

Bumblebee made a noise, looking up at Prowl. He transformed into a camaro, and opened his doors. The teens got inside in the back seat, and Lennox got into the front, keeping an eye out. Charlie held Sam's hand as she saw him shivering, likely not from the cold.

"You okay?"

"No," Sam said. "None of this is okay."

Charlie thought for a moment. "You're scared."

"Who wouldn't be?!"

"No, I mean," she started, wincing. "You have PTSD. Your emotions are all over the place, even before now. You lash out, and yell, a lot. You're lost, confused, and, I'm willing to bet you have problems keeping up relationships? Of any kind."

He said nothing at first. "How, why did Bee leave you?"

"I let him go," she admitted. "But it was because I didn't want to get in his way when it came to, whatever he was doing. I knew it was important though, and that decepticons wanted him for it. And, I was the human who couldn't do much, at least not what he needed."

Sam swallowed, "I, Bee and I got into a lot of fights, many...Most, were my fault. I realized how I was behaving and with Optimus and the others going elsewhere, I guess I let him go in a different way than you."

The silence droned for a bit. Charlie smiled then, "Well, the first step to everything is recognizing that you have a problem, and making that problem into part of your real self."

"...How old are you?"

"Nineteen, almost twenty. I met Bee back when I was seventeen. You?"

"Sixteen. Bee was my first car," he said. "I'm in college now. I had to contact Sector Seven though a few months back when an Allspark shard made me see weird things, and I had a mental breakdown...And I was tortured by Megatron, and...I'm not comfortable talking about this. Sorry."

Charlie nodded, "That's okay."

"...I, was in relationships before. First there was Mikaela, who was pretty amazing and helped me, and saved me, when I first met these guys. But, I could never bring myself to love her. Then there was Carly, and she made everything easier, and I felt safer, but, I still struggled." He raked a hand through his hair, only to grip the top of his scalp, his knuckles turning white. "I yelled at Bee so much, and I lost old friends, and...What the hell is wrong with me?"

The other human belonging to Bumblebee pat his back again. "You went through a lot, and don't really know how to process things, and that's okay. But, it does mean you need help, and you need to accept that help for it to do any good. Oh, I can ask my therapist to help you, cutting down the cost? She's really awesome and even if you can't tell her anything, it's just nice to have someone willing to listen."

Sam's formed relaxed, "I, I think I'd like that."

She held out her fist then, "Bee Bros?"

He made his own, tapping it against hers. "Bee Bros."

Lennox searched the area, trying to give the kids the space they needed. Ofelia just remained silent. "Got anything, Prowl?"

"There's a definitive pattern. The images look like two cybertronians battling. From the appearances, I'd guess from first viewing that they were Primus and Unicron."

"The robot god people?" Sam asked, ignoring the disdainful face Lennox got.

Prowl cleared his throat, "That's, a close enough analogy. In any case, the images tell a story. Apparently, eons ago, one of the humans here discovered...Crystals, with great power, and a cybertronian, not Unicron or Primus, appeared, giving one of the humans a weapon. From the looks of it, it was the Scythe and, the cybertronian had given it to a child."

"Who in their right mind would do that?" Lennox said.

"Wouldn't be a first time kids were given items of unimaginable power from cybertronians," Sam deadpanned, getting a candy wrapper tossed in his face by Ofelia. "Hey!"

She narrowed her eyes again, and he backed away, raising his hands as a sign of complacency. Prowl continued, "Apparently, this cybertronian gave weaponry to humans all over the world. Some of them, look like they're fighting fellow humans, who were affected by a different shade of crystal."

"Energon," Lennox stated, looking to the passengers. "Energon is basically the lifeblood and nutrition to these guys."

"So, cybertronians are vampires," Ofelia said stonily. "Good to know."

It did  _not_ help when Bee began playing quotes from Dracula figures, including a, "Bleh bleh bleh."

Lennox pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, it doesn't work like that. Basically energon is food, which becomes blood. Haven' you guys taken science classes?"

Ofelia arched a brow, "Yeah, and I'm pretty sure that our stuff is processed. I'm also pretty sure that Meggy back there, was bleeding that stuff. It didn't change much from what I've seen of these guys eating."

"When did you see them eating?"

"That grumpy medic guy was stress eating some," Ofelia said.

Sam groaned, "Well, I wouldn't doubt it if Megatron was a vampire. I mean, those teeth can't be healthy."

"I can fix that," Ofelia said, leaning back in her seat and toying with her knife nonchalantly.

No one wanted to ask how, because they already had some accurate ideas as to how.

Prowl's communication channel began to break up. "...Bee...Dark...Ener-!...Turn back!"

Lennox heard enough to put together Prowl's warning. "Dark Energon? What's that?"

Ahead of them, something began glowing, and all humans froze when a giant hand was visible in its light. Even Ofelia made a noise in fear when the hand moved from inside its transparent coffin, roaring in fury. And, it wasn't the only one. It was a mass grave, and human bodies were mixed with cybertronians.

"Just how big is this place?" Lennox whispered.

Ofelia turned, and said, "Bee, let me out."

"What are you thinking?" Charlie asked/

"That this place wasn't originally a place for the dead. Look over there." Ofelia recognized how the buildings appeared, including fire pits, small gardens, an a small lake. "I've been in a place like this, and they had something, more ancient that no one expected at the bottom of the pool. And, I also think we need to investigate. Maybe there's a reason for all of this. Maybe there's a reason, that the cybertronian gave humans weapons."

"Like robotic zombies weren't enough of a reason?" Lennox huffed. "Fine, but I want everyone armed, and for the bots, our bots, to stay close."

Ofelia automatically took out a couple knives and handed them to the teens. "WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU KEEPING THOSE AND WHY?!" Sam was really, really intimidated by this woman, and figured he should just keep his mouth shut. "Okay. Knives, knives are good. Thank you."

To everyone's surprise there, Charlie was spinning it in her fingers, almost expertly. "Neat, we had some similar to this back at the garage? 'Member Bee? Back when you were scared of my wrench? There were  _so_ many other dangerous stuff there. So, we heading out?"

Ofelia exited first, opening the door for Charlie, leaving Sam and Lennox very, very worried. "And here I thought Charlie couldn't be scary at all."

Bee made a laughing kind of noise, which only exacerbated the unease.

Standing next to Charlie, Ofelia knew she was right. There were some obvious differences, but most of the architecture was the same, as well as the forms of writing that neither she nor Maristella could translate. Prowl appeared out of nowhere, scowling at the screeching deceased.

"What did you find?"

"...Maristella and I, used to go cave exploring with some of our other relatives. We stopped after, we lost some of those members," Ofelia admitted. "But, we did come across places like this a couple of times. Never found this place though."

Charlie ignored the guys' who were likely about to say some very inappropriate words. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"We wanted the dead to rest, so to speak," Ofelia stated, frowning at the sight of the cybertronians crying out as if they were in pain. Prowl called them over, where the literal writing was on the wall, along with drawings. "What?"

Prowl whispered, "We didn't just visit this planet, apparently we lived amongst your kind, open about who and what we were..."

His hand touched a small figure next to the cybertronian within the pictures. "They had families, humans and cybertronians together, coexisting peacefully without the need for disguises, for the most part. According to the text, there were also bots with more malicious intentions, which is why cybertronians gave the artifacts of the Primes to humanity-"

"To protect themselves," Charlie murmured. "That's, kind of sweet."

"Indeed," Prowl uttered. "But, one day, the cybertronian allies were killed off by invaders, and told the humans to use a secret weapon, Dark Energon, to help them fight back."

Lennox hissed, looking back at the moving corpses. "Did, Dark Energon do that?" Charlie held herself, Sam laying a hand on her shoulder. "How could they do that?"

"The humans were instructed to, and didn't realize what it meant until it was too late," Prowl said, closing his eyes, and one of his hands. "After the invaders from the stars left, the people here tried to help their loved ones find peace. They were never fully able to do so, so, some of them moved on, and others stayed, protecting their loved ones in the closest way that the cybertronians did for them."

"The flinging bodies? Is that their version of zombies?!" Sam yelped.

"Apparently," Lennox said. "And, I'm willing to guess that the reason only cybertronians could come down here was-"

"Because the people here hoped that if they couldn't help the cybertronians here find peace, then someone else from the stars could."

Charlie tentatively walked up to one of the coffins, seeing a mummified human next to one of the zombie-like creatures. "So, they're all buried like this, because they didn't want to be forced apart."

Sam couldn't look. "What is Dark Energon, anyways? Why does it do, this?"

Bumblebee played recorded words. " _Unicron...Blood...Lord of the Undead..."_

"So, we're the spawn of a satanic, zombie robotic unicorn?" Ofelia deadpanned. " _Great_."

"More like strange seeing as the humans weren't poisoned, or at least there's no evidence of it," Prowl said, holding his chin in thought. "Lennox, have you ever had problems transporting energon? Or Sam, after you were exposed to it, were you ever harmed from it again?"

Lennox shook his head. "I always felt fine."

Sam was hesitant, "It hurt, at first, but then it kind of, tingled at most?"

"Humans naturally adapt and change to suit environmental needs," Ofelia commented. "Some can't do it for one reason or another, usually from illness or some other biological reason beyond our control, but, it's been known for things such as allergies that the more you're exposed to it the better chances you have to either be immune, or at least be able to tolerate it. It's also known that those immunity boosters can be passed down through multiple generations."

"So if humans were gradually exposed, then some may have higher tolerances against energon than others," Prowl said. "And those who aren't likely would have died of poisoning, as some of our records confirm."

There was a loud crash, and Charlie screamed as she was snatched upwards, the cybertronian corpse's grip hurting her. She fought back, stabbing the hand she was in, and gaining some movement back, but couldn't do it all the way. Damaged or rotten, these things were still stronger than humans.

Sam reached out, "Charlie!"

As his hand outstretched, a blue pulse, not dissimilar to Sari's from earlier, burst out, blasting the cybertronian in the spark chamber. It croaked, and fell backwards to the deceased human in its coffin. For a moment, those lifeless eyes turned the normal blue most seen in living cybertronians, and then lost all color. Lennox ran over to Charlie, checking over her, and Ofelia moved next to Sam, checking his arms.

There, were glowing, jagged lines, and the center of his palm was bright blue, light flickering there. Ofelia pursed her lips, "Perhaps Sari wasn't that far off about exposure transforming us into something else. Congratulations, you're a techno organic now, Samuel Witwicky."

...Sam fainted.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been a major fan of the Bayverse universe (racism, sexism, etc made it sometimes hard to watch), but I did enjoy Sam on occasion, and I had an idea of his thought process, because we've both experienced trauma. 
> 
> Maybe like me, he just needs someone who can listen, really listen.
> 
> ...And then I need to traumatize him some more for whump and angst purposes.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationships, confessions, and fusing. Oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elios' romantic side is partially inspired by Love 020. Namely, these two scenes:
> 
> https://all-that-kstuff.tumblr.com/post/150228333719/this-is-how-you-deal-with-people-trying-to-bring  
> https://kdramafeed.tumblr.com/post/156458044153/travelingstrawberry-this-kind-of-trust-is-so
> 
> He's basically going to accept who and what they are, and tell everybody else to FOAD in the most polite and civil ways possible.

"Wow, you're kind of like Iron Man now," Charlie commented, helping Sam gather what wits he had left. "Like some kind of superhero."

"I don't feel super."

She pat his back, "Well, technically you just saved my life, and apparently you've helped save the world before, so even without powers, you're a superhero."

Ofelia ignored the fluff. "How do you feel?"

Sam Witwicky flexed his hand, which looked normal once again. "Confused. I thought Sari said she was the first?"

"Technically, she said she was  _one_ of the first," Lennox pointed out. "...Does that mean all humans are going to, become techno organics?"

"Highly improbable," Prowl conferred. "As Ofelia mentioned earlier, not every human has a developed tolerance or possible genetic qualities to gain what Sam has."

"I didn't say that last part."

He tilted his head, "It's implied. And, Sam Witwicky's ancestor spent great deals of time with cybertronian technology, and as we understand it, he unintentionally exposed most of his descendants with it as well, when he passed down the spectacles he had." He looked Sam directly in the eyes. "You shouldn't have survived receiving information from the Allspark, or what you experienced from the decepticons, even if it wasn't their direct intention to kill you. That means, your abilities may become nearly as potent as Sari Sumdac's even though she was originally a protoform, a natural cybertronian before her father's DNA was combined with the form she bears now."

Ofelia sat down on a rock, "So, most people already have a possible predisposition to it because we're the spawn of-"

"Just say 'Unicron', please?"

"...A demonic, robotic, zombie unicorn."

Prowl looked ready to strangle someone. "Fine, yes. Your species' ancestor is a 'demonic, robotic, zombie unicorn'. Regardless, yes, your kind has a predisposition, and being near cybertronian technology, especially via familial bloodlines, means that you get-"

"Iron Man powers!" Charlie called out excitedly. Bee began to play Iron Man's theme. "Am I the only one excited about this?"

Ofelia didn't answer as she went to the underground lake's edge, beginning to strip. Lennox yelled, "What are you doing?"

"Last place like this, minus the zombies, there was something at the bottom of a lake. I'm willing to bet whatever we're looking for, is down there."

She didn't give him a chance to rebuke her idea, diving straight in. Damn it, she must be going insane like Maristella had. But, there at the bottom, was a slight shine of something. It was covered in moss, but it was still visible. Crap, she needed air, but she might as well do what Maristella did. Reaching it, she nearly gasped in shock when it transformed to fit her hand. It was an orb of some kind with four blades on it. Swimming up, she began hearing voices. Wasn't she alone down there?

Reaching the surface, she lifted the object, "What is this?"

" _Enigma of...Combination!"_ Bee said.  But, instead of his normal radio voice, she heard something else all together.  Ofelia stilled and looked upwards He tilted his head, and the other voice grew far clearer than the sounds he made. "I hope Ofelia is okay. Theat was a dangerous thing for her to do. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be-"

Ofelia screamed, throwing the thing at Sam, who stilled himself, and screeched, tossing it to Lennox. "What are you guys-?"

His eyes widened, and he looked up at Prowl and Bee, gaping. "I, can hear you, Bee. I can hear Prowl too, and Ironhide, and Ultra Magnus."

Charlie gingerly took the artifact from Lennox's hands, waiting until he shook his head to clear it. "I  _can't_ hear anything."

The other three reluctantly touched it, together, and even Charlie could hear Bumblebee clearly this time as he beeped to Prowl. "Does this have anything to do with that exposure thing?"

"Yes," all four humans said at once. "Bee, we can hear  _you_ , not the radio or cassette player. We're hearing  _your_ voice."

Lennox added, "And I can hear Ironhide, and Ultra Magnus and..."

They froze, "Knockout and Breakdown are here."

* * *

 

Elios walked outside, breathing in and out as he watched it cloud against the dark of night. It had taken a while, but things were calm now. Clenching his fist over his sternum, Elios leaned against the house, feeling far older and more tired than he thought was possible, and he looked after both Maristella and Ofelia.

Closing his eyes, he heard Knockout's laugh, saw his smile, and the utter look of pain the last time they said goodbye. Putting an arm over his eyes, he did his best not to cry. " _ **C'mon Elios, you need to be strong. You need to hold it together. You-"**_

"Miss me?"

Elios opened his eyes, seeing Knockout close to him, towering over the human. In the moonlight, his finish looked just as majestic as always. Laughing bitterly, but smiling happily, Elios wheezed, "You've no idea."

Knockout smiled back, the expression oddly soft. "I missed you too, little human."

"Big bot," Elios tried to joke. "What's happening with you, if I may ask?"

"You may." Knockout sat beside him, and Elios had to make sure no one else was around to see the decepticon. Most of the family was likely to throw sandals at the poor guy. But, then he saw that there was no decepticon mark on the bot. Knockout nodded, "Like you said, I'm not a true decepticon."

Elios looked out at the desert, remembering when Knockout, the beautifully insane car of a person, raced across such landscapes. "You did it for you, right?"

"Yes, I did it for me," Knockout promised, "And not just because I wanted to see you again. Doesn't make me an autobot though."

Oh thank goodness. As much as Elios cared for Knockout, he wanted a partner willing to accept and change themselves as need be. He didn't want anyone to feel tied or held back by him. And, Knockout was a free spirit at hear, that should never be trapped. He may not fly, but he did make hearts soar. The human shrugged, "Technically, I'm not one either. I do need to ask you something though."

"Fire away."

Elios frowned, disliking the mere thought of the question. "Megatron followed us. Do you have any idea how or why he did that?"

"If you're inferring that I-" Knockout started, dropping his anger as Elios shook his head.

"I'm pretty sure you'd try to get rid of me yourself if you had been related to that. Unless there's a lot more autobots, you would've done it. I just wanted to hear it from you, instead of someone else trying to tell me what's real and what's not."

"...Flatterer."

"Honest," Elios said casually, or at least trying to seem that way.

Knockout huffed a little. "Well, my little human, how Megatron found you, I don't know. But, I do know there's something that needs to be done."

Standing up, Elios tried not to react at seeing the mixture of a goofball and someone utterly fabulous looking at him like that. It was almost a dream come true, even if he hadn't expected the talking car part of the near fairy tale story. 

"So, what are you going to do?"

Knockout held out a giant finger, and Elios took it, standing up. "I'm going to introduce you to my partner."

Oh, he remembered Knockout's partner well. Even if they only saw eachother in the battlefield, Elios never tried to pick a fight. It was primarily because he knew Knockout cared about him deeply, and secondarily becaise Elios was too scared to go up against the guy. It was kind of obvious that Knockout liked big bots, the tougher ones. Whatever Knockout was doing with Elios, didn't make complete sense, but the human was going to follow his gut in one of the rarest moments in his life. "Breakdown?"

They walked to a more wide open space."In the chasis."

The three of them were surrounded by stars, and Elios grinned, bowing to Breakdown. "It's an honor to meet you. Knockdown's told me a lot about you, Breakdown."

"And he's told me about you." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh, mind if we talk, alone? Without Knockout? I've been told that it's a good way of bonding."

"Sure, we can gossip about him," Elios said, winking at Knockout.

How cybertronians blushed, Elios would never know. "Sounds like a plan-"

There were a lot of roars, and Elios found himself tackled by Ofelia. The autobots immediately began fighting the former decpticons. Elios then did the unthinkable. He pushed his cousin away from him, got up, and walked into the middle of the fight, glaring at the autobots. It was a glare that nearly held the intensity of Ofelia's. Ultra Magnus grimaced, ordering the others to stand down. Then, Elios held both Knockdown's and Breakdown's servos.

"They didn't do anything, and I trust them. Back, off."

"But they're-!" Ofelia started, some weird object in her hand. Then, she paled, gaping at Knockout and Breakdown. "... _ **Oh my fucking God."**_

"Language!" Elios scolded, only to be stunned when Ofelia began laughing

She got out her knife again, and narrowed her eyes at the two cybertronians, grinning malevolently. "Oh, this is going to be fun. Fine, you guys get a pass. Everybody, they're good!...Ish."

"How are you so sure?" Breakdown asked tensely.

Ofelia held up the Prime artifact. "This thing allows all kinds of parts of cybertronians to meld and combine their abilities, usually physically, but it can include reading minds. Basically, right now, I can hear you think. Hey Elios, want to hear your loverboys' thoughts? I didn't know you've doused yourself in holy water before."

Her cousin blushed profusely, stuttering until Ofelia tried to give the artifact to him. She was surprised by his hardened stance, and when he carefully pushed her away. Few had ever seen her cousin angry or truly stern before. This was one of those times that Ofelia actually felt a little nervous, just a little...Really. He would never actively harm anyone, but there were reasons messing with the Milagros family wasn't a wise idea. After all, when Ofelia's brothers had been killed, it hadn't been difficult to hold those responsible to justice, and vengeance had been allowed. Elios was never weak, and she knew that better than anyone. In some ways, because he always hid behind a kind smile, he was the most frightening of them all.

"No, I want them to tell me. I don't want to hear it from any outside party, got it?"

Elios was known for being a wimp and maybe an over polite coward, and he knew that, but he also did his best to treat others fairly at the least. He'd told himself if he ever found someone that may care for him like he hoped Knockout did, then he'd treasure them as if his life depended on it, and his afterlife too if it existed.He'd be brave, and be the best Prince Charming he could be. Partners of any kind need respect and trust, so that's what Elios was going to give.

"...You win," Ofelia said, putting away her knife. She still gave Knockout and Breakdown a wary look. "You break his heart, and I'll do to you what I've done to the decepticons."

Realization came to Knockout's expression, but instead of giving it away, he listened when Elios said, "She just stabbed Megatron in the eye, twice. And she shot a bazooka at him."

"Holy scrap."

Elios shrugged, "You've no idea what we're really capable of."

Sam raised his hand, which was flickering blue, "Actually, we might."

What the hell?"

* * *

 

 

Maristella and Marissa had been talking on the mezzazine when the ground bridge opened, the returning group to the Milagros ancestral home appearing, as well as Knockout and Breakdown. Most of the autobots there got into battle position, but were stopped by the sight of Elios glaring. Optimus merely nodded and approached the two decepticons.

"Welcome. Make yourself comfortable."

This, was weird. Sari raced over in her skates, and beamed as her helmet slipped backwards. Knockout made a face. "Not an autobot."

"Yet," she teased, winking. "You guys are finally together?"

Normally Elios would blush and stutter, but he didn't look ashamed for a second. "If they'll let me."

"There's the Elios Milagros I know," Sari giggled. "And I see Sam got his powers."

Sam growled, "You knew this would happen?"

"From the future, remember?" Sari sighed. "I did try to give you some warning though. You're a descendant of one of the most affected bloodlines that interacted with any cybertronian. Of course you're going to develop you abilities before anyone else."

"Anyone else?" Knockout asked.

"The Milagros and Burns' family have ties too, remember? Heck, there are bloodlines everywhere that could do it. I think there's also a descendant of Merlin who used cybertronian tech."

Ofelia, Maristella, and Elios looked at each other. "We could become techno organics?"

"I, don't know how to feel about that," Ofelia murmured. "I like being human."

"You're still human, just with a little something extra. So, did you get the Enigma of Combination yet?"

Lennox groaned, "I'm really starting to hate this future stuff."

"Great. Hey Bulkhead, Wheeljack! Fuse!" She took the device from Ofelia, throwing it at Bulkhead. He caught it, and there was a flash of light. Sure enough, there was a completely new autobot with parts of Bulkhead and Wheeljack thrown in. Two voices yelped out, and they separated in a glow of light. Sari caught the device, snickering, "Yo spark sisters! Windblade! Go for it!"

Arcee was the one who caught it, and as with Bulkhead and Wheeljack, there was a new bot with features from all of them in her. "This, feels strange."

"Fusion is awesome," Sari said with a satisfied smile, getting it again and tossing it to Knockout and Breakdown.

They hesitated, looking for Elios to say something. The human, just smiled, genuinely happy. "Go for it. You're going to be amazing."

The bots grinned back, and transformed into something both bulked up, and slender, almost graceful. Elios cheered, getting out a camera and taking a picture. The combination began posing, laughing at their combined shenanigans. When they separated, Elios showed them the photos, all three commenting on the looks of the new fusion.

Sari smirked, "Elios really is good at this."

Blurr raced forward, "Canhumansfusewithus?"

She winced, "Sorry, only cybertronians, or sometimes techno organics, can fuse with their own respective kinds. The Engima thingy won't do it for a mixture of the two or humans. It's kind of like Dragon Ball where the characters need to be of somewhat similar build or size for it to work."

Everyone looked at Sam. "Nope, no way. She's a kid!"

"We're the same age, and there's nothing between us, dork. The sisters just fused, and it didn't mean anything except for what they wanted it to be. Besides, don't you want to learn how to better control your new powers? I can help you there."

Nervously, he stepped forward, placing his hand on the device like Sari did. "Fine."

In another flash of light, stood a taller humanoid with dark skin, brown hair, Sam's eyes, the wildness of Sari's hair, and a gender neutral physique. They also wore a combination of each other's clothing, a mixture of futuristic and Indie. Blue lines were strewn throughout their skin, showing the technological side.

"Nice, huh? I don't get this opportunity much elsewhere," the fusion said. "Kind of Steven Universe, don'tcha think?"

The teens transformed back into their normal selves then, Sari laughing while Sam groaned.

"Hey, any ideas for fusion names? Wait, Sam and Sari, Sam and Sari, what's a good combo? Ooh, Samsara! That sounds cool, right?" Charlie came over to comfort Sam, along with Bee. "And Wheeljack and Bulkhead could be... Bulkjack? Wheelhead? Nah, I'll come up with something later. And the sisters can be...Archade!"

"No," both groups said.

Soon enough, everyone was trying out the artifact, and after, the returning group told everyone of what they knew about the past, and the living dead trapped in the ruins.

* * *

 

"Elios seems happy," Optimus pointed out.

Maristella hummed to herself. "Wasn't expecting for him to have  _two_ boyfriends. Or, at least he's trying to date one but still be with the other?"

"Humans seem to have an odd idea of how relationships  _should_ work."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, everyone in my family knew Elios was gay before he did. There was no need for him to 'come out' to us. And I'm not ashamed or disappointed about him being in multiple relationships. It's just that, he always seemed so obsessed with loyalty and talking about a soulmate, as in single, than ever considering the possibility of having more than one."

"And, how do you believe your family will react?"

"There are very few straight people in the Milagros family tree. Even some of our ancestors were so obviously acting the roles of being 'ordinary', that it was a public secret. Polygamy isn't one of the common ones, but considering this generation and their sexual preferences, it's not something most in the family would be against. Heck, Mama is bisexual, and Papa is pansexual."

"...And you?"

Don't blush. Don't blush. "Well, I found out the hard way that I'm a demi-sexual and demi-romantic. It means it's hard for me to feel attracted to anyone unless I know them, and I'm comfortable."

Please don't ask any more questions. Please don't ask any more questions. Ask further questions, and she'll probably die of embarrassment. Optimus nodded, "I understand that feeling."

"With Elita One?" she asked.

It was always nice to hear him talk about her. When he did, he had this smile on his face and seemed happy in ways she had rarely seen. Elita One was truly fantastic. Optimus shook his head. "Yes, I felt that way with Elita, but there are some people who are easy to love."

Internally screaming should be Maristella's new music list. Maybe the more she listened to it, the more she'd like it? 

Optimus was quiet, something in his expression changing. 

"Can I confess something to you?"

"Always," Maristella said automatically, her brain asking her what the fuck she was doing.

"...The greatest weakness of most is hesitancy to tell others how they love them while they're alive," he said, glancing at Sam Witwicky with a sorrowful expression, then a hopeful one as all the autobots interacted with their respective humans. Maristella noticed, thinking of how short time all of them would have together. Cybertronians were already thousands of years old, and likely had witnessed human lifetimes begin and end multiple times. "But, there's always more to your kind than meets the eye. Freedom is a right, and the right of all sentient beings. That includes the freedom to hate, to befriend, to love."

Elios and and his bots were laughing, Lennox was joking with Ironhide, Sari racing with Blurr, and Prowl was teasing Ofelia, who didn't seem to mind as much as expected. Did humans of the past live like this with their cybertronians? Finding times to be happy and merry despite the grim situations they might be thrown into? Enjoying the simple things in life?

"There are mysteries to the universe we were never meant to solve, but who we are and why we are here are not among them," Optimus said. "Our races united by a history long forgotten, and a future we shall face together..."

He paused, and Maristella consider what she should reply with. He always tried to say these grandiose things when he was either hopeful, or fearful. It was when he would try to look into hope to see a brighter future, and it made others want to be hopeful too.

"I look forward to it," she said softly. "And times shared with you."

She wanted to believe in hope too. Looking up and at the stars, she didn't flinch when his servos carefully covered hers.

"...I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put, another transformation," he said. "I, I hope you'll join me in that. I hope, our beginning can be bright."

Maristella felt her fear dissipate. There was the awkward Optimus she knew. "I'd be honored."

Seeing his slightly disappointed expression, she mustered as much strength as possible. Tentatively, she said, "What about enjoying being by your side? Or fighting alongside you because you're everything I wish could exist here? The dorky, book loving, Optimus Prime that I admire, and care about?"

He blinked, letting a small smile appear. "That, is what I was hoping for."

"Then I won't let that hope die, as long as it's in my power to prevent it."

Getting up, and glad Optimus had made sure to be next to the mezzanine so that they were face to face, she kissed his cheek, and then do her best not to run away in mortification of what'd she just did. But, seeing everyone happy or content? Maybe life wasn't so hardened after all.

* * *

 

Maristella had fallen asleep on his shoulder, and Optimus couldn't stop his smile. "Thank you, Miraculous Star of the Sea, for believing in me."

He made sure she was tucked into bed, safe and sound after that, and let the night absorb the two in their peaceful slumber.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arcee fought a war inside as she stared down at the Covenant of Primus. Inside it held the secrets of the universe, past, present, and what could be. Searching the area to ensure she was alone, she carefully opened the cover, searching for the current date.
> 
> Inside, she found pages and images that made her spark flicker, and the light in her eyes dim.
> 
> "No...That can't happen."
> 
> Images of Tailgate flooded her memory processor, and how she and the other autobots found his corpse. How she almost lost Cliffjumper to Starscream. Where Elita One fell with smoke rising out of the area she was shot, energon leaking out. Both Arcee and Optimus had been there, and they couldn't save her. Guilt and fear took over.
> 
> Feeling her servos shake, she asked whoever was listening, "Why do they have to die?"
> 
> There was no answer, leaving Arcee in the shadows once more.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on hiatus for classes and/or to work on other writing.
> 
> In the meantime, here's a short snippet from another plotted arch that I decided not to got forward with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ofelia is interrogated by deceptions...Ish?

They had done it, they had captured one of the autobots' pet humans.

As Megatron understood it, this was the more dangerous one of the three usually together. He had seen the damage it was capable of. Apparently with nothing but a small, normally irrelevant human tool for opening things, they had taken out a great deal of his people, including removing Airachnid's extra limbs like a, what did they say according to Soundwave? Ah, a crustacean. Apparently, humans ate such beings, favoring legs most of all.

When they brought the human in, the thing broke out of its shackles, and not only scratched Knockout's paint, but off part of Starscream's digits with their own strength. Yes, this human was vicious, and remarkable as it was terrifying. 

He had been going to enter the interrogation chamber when Starscream fell out, looking more miserable than usual. Megatron raised an eyebrow. "Did you lose more digits?"

"No, but I got the human to sing-"

" _IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL! IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL! IT'S A SMALL, SMALL WORLD! In spanish now everybody! ES UN MUNDO DE RISAS, UN MUNDO DE  LÁGRIMAS! ES UN MUNDO DE ESPERANCZA Y UN MUNDO DE MIEDOS! HAY TANTO QUE COMPARTIMOS QUE ES TIEMPO DE QUE NOS DEMOS CUENTA-!"_

"...But not in the way we wanted," Starscream groaned. "This is excruciating."

Megatron had to admit, the human was in desperate need of singing lessons. That, and the song, was catchy. Too catchy. It was repeating over and over in his head and...Oh no. That diabolical piece of scrapmetal!

 He roared, smirking when the human went silent. Then, it got worse, so much worse. _"WE'RE NO STRANGERS TO LOVE! YOU KNOW THE RULES AND SO DO I! A FULL COMMITMENT'S WHAT I"M THINKING OF! YOU WOULDN'T GET THIS FROM ANY OTHER GUY-!"_

Nearby, vehicons and Airachnid were covering their ears, some begging to stop it. Airachnid whimpered, "Couldn't the human pick a more bearable song?"

There was a pause, and then, "SUGAR PIE, HONEY BUNCH-!"

Megatron screeched then, coming with the human face to face. The human smirked then, winked at him, and screamed back as loud, if not louder than he did. The human was a terrible singer, but they could hold their breath for a very, very long time. "You will stay quiet or-"

" _AAAAAAHHHHHHH..."_

"...You can't do this all day."

_"Yes I can. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!_

"SOUNDWAVE!" The bot in question appeared, nothing showing through his mask. The human grew silent. "Get any and all information you can out of that wretched thing."

When he returned a couple of hours later, Soundwave was exhausted, and the human was still singing.

"It's Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious! If you say it loud enough YOU'LL ALWAYS SOUND PRECOCIOUS! SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!"

Megatron felt like something inside just wanted to die.

"...But that thing back where it came from, or so help me..."

Wait, where'd the human go?

"...THERE'S A CHILD, THERE'S A CHILD, THERE'S A HUMAN CHILD! RUNNING AROUND THE RESTAURANT, THIS IS REALLY WILD! WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME WILL BECOME OF US?!"

By the Allspark, someone please have mercy.

* * *

 

Ratchet was pacing, and narrowed his eyes at the other two members of the Golden Trio. "Aren't you worried about George?"

 

"... _To be honest, I think I'm more worried for the decepticons'  safety."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ofelia has a very, very sadistic nature.
> 
> Whether or not it's canon, is up to you.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The humans bond, and discuss familial things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is a matter of desire, and of choice.

Arcee did her best not to show anything. She didn't know if she should have read the Book of the Covenant, but she had. For some reason, the humans they had encountered were included in it, and one of them wasn't going to make it. Her eyes traveled over the tiny creatures as they spoke to the government agents. Her eyes lingered on some more than others.

"Arcee?" Chromia touched her sister's shoulder, frowning when Arcee flinched. "What is it?"

There used to be three, not two. Arcee had read and seen stories of heroes and villains in groups of threes.  It was always three. There was even three kinds of groups now: Autobots, Decepticons, and humans. Three was a magic number on Earth, and to change that number was rarely ever a good thing. "...I read the Book."

She didn't have to specify which one. Chromia stiffened, "That's forbidden, except for the Primes themselves. Arcee, it's driven people mad."

"I know," Arcee murmured. "I don't regret it though. I mean, what if we can stop-"

"Do you know what a self-fulfilling prophecy is?" Chromia asked. Arcee shook her head. "It's where people say something will happen, and thus it happens. In most cases, if you try to stop it, that will only ensure the future you dread."

Wincing, Arcee said, "Not always. Look at the humans and their 'paperwork'. They're supposed to fill it with information, and say they'll do it. But most of the time, they don't, usually because they put it off until it's too late."

Her sister nodded, "This isn't paperwork, it's a prophecy."

"So what? Do I just stay and watch it all happen?!" Arcee whispered harshly. "Am I supposed to-?!"

Chromia covered her sister's intake receptor, "Don't tell me, or we'll both do something we'll regret."

And there was the question, do they interfere, or not? In either case, it would still be a choice, and one that could change everything.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Ofelia groaned, the heels of her hands digging into her eyes. "You two,  _both,_ bought Bumblebee, found out he was a robot, and went on some crazy adventure where evil robots tried to kill you?"

Charlie and Sam made different gestures to show their indifference. "Yeah. Why, what's your guys' story?"

Burns shook his head, "The first time I met these guys is the same time Sari appeared."

The future dweller had the decency to look a little guilty. It prompted Charlie to ask, "What about you, Sari? Or is that future stuff you can't tell us?"

Sari shrugged, "Everyone lives together. The only real reason I got in touch with Optimus and the others is because of my techno-organic form. That, and a bit of a history with the Allspark, but that's spoilers."

Sam pursed his lips in annoyance, but unexpectantly no one asked for more details. Lennox cleared his throat, "I met the Autobots same time as I met Witwicky, and Simmons before that for both of us."

Sam gave Simmons a look, leaving the agent to blush in embarrassment. "Er, my first meeting with them...I was an ass and kind of deserved what I got...I really don't want to talk about it."

Lennox turned to Elios, "What about you? When did you first meet Knockout?"

Elios smiled shyly, "Well, I didn't know he was a cybertronian when we first met. The guy needed some repairs and buffering to his car, and him being an Aston Martin kind of helped since I always liked those kinds of cars."

"How come?"

The young man rubbed the back of his neck, "Er, I was a fanboy of James Bond, those fancy gadgets, and he always had these awesome cars that could do almost anything. I guess, if he's willing to have me, then I do too."

There was a small "awww", that circulated, only causing Elios to make small, flustered noises. "And about Breakdown?"

That one Elios seemed to take some more time on before shrugging, "I don't really know him, but Knockout has described him plenty of times from what I've gathered, and I like what I hear. He's also plenty fun, a little chaotic but really cool. I'm just glad we're trying to know each other better. He seems like a great guy."

"Don't let the Wreckers hear that," Fowler chuckled, sipping some hot chocolate. "They've never really gotten along."

Elios nodded, "I think if everyone safe and relatively happy, then I'm good. I uh, I never expected to have the feelings I do now, for anyone. I'd like to keep that, and even more I'd like to see them happy. "

He tried not to pay attention to everyone's cooing. Marissa leaned forward, surprisingly casual in appearance and mannerisms this time around. "And I thought Thundercracker and I might be the only bot and human couple here. Er, partners? Lovers? You know what I mean."

"And what's your story?" Sam asked, drinking more soda. 

She smiled softly, "I was a member of the Earth Defense Squad, as cheesy as the organization sounds. I was working on the space program to pilot a ship to Mars. The idea was to find ways to habituate the planet for Earth colonists. Back then, it was a highly secretive program. We detected signals from unknown aircrafts. Not long after, we had encountered the Autobots via Sam Witwicky. I was assigned to help them adapt because of my experience. I was one of the people helping keep the Autobots in check."

Fowler raised a glass to her, "Bot babysitters, unite!"

She rolled her eyes, but returned the silent toast clinking the glasses. "Anyways, there was this one guy always making trouble. He was dramatic, and a bit wild. He was one of the bots I had to watch the most. Somewhere along the line, I convinced him to try out writing screenplays, we got a dog that he adores with all his spark, and...Here we are."

Marissa hesitated, eyes lowered, "We've been talking about the possibility of either adopting a kid or sparkling, or having a semi-natural. For instance, we could try out artificial insemination for a human kid. It seems more likely to happen than having a sparkling since..."

Since the Allspark was gone, as was Cyberton.

It was clearly a test, but the question was for what purpose? There was a semi-heavy silence, everyone's thoughts wandering. Elios didn't seem to mind. "I've thought about having kids, and I don't know if I really want to have them. My family is kind of large, and most of the kids I knew, that I helped raise, are grown up. It feels like, I've completed that milestone in life. It feels like, that part's over. It wasn't bad, it's just, a little numb I guess."

He didn't even pay attention to the details most were likely thinking about. Sari grimaced, "Well, you guys know how I physically exist."

"So what? Get ourselves a couple of protoforms and put our DNA in?" Fowler grumbled. "That, I'm not sure how to feel about that, no offense."

Sam inspected his arm, the glowing veins and markings shining blue in the darkness. "For some of us, maybe that's something we can't really deny anymore."

Sari Sumdac and Sam Witwicky were physical proof that it was possible to combine cybertronic traits with human DNA. They may have been the inverse of the other, but that didn't change the fact that it was possible to both create a techno-organic, and naturally born so. Sari nodded, "Who knows? Maybe there'll be natural techno-organics from how much humans and cybertronians have interacted. It's kind of an evolutionary thing I guess. After all, humans adapt to become more capable of surviving the impossible, and cybertronians need better ways to-"

"I'm stopping you right there," Ofelia said. "I'm not against this whole dating robots thing, as weird as it is, but conceiving kids with them? I'm pretty sure Simmons hear would call that a bad fanfiction."

Simmons shivered, "I mean, how would that even work? They're gigantic, and don't really have the parts for..."

There was a vein twitching in his forehead. Elios hummed, "Their holoforms are pretty solid."

"I know, right?" Marissa agreed.

They blatantly ignored everyone else's expressions, not embarrassed in the slightest. They said it factually, as though it weren't a big deal. Maybe it shouldn't be.

"...We can't seriously be debating over whether or not it's okay to screw a robot, or have kids with them, are we?" Ofelia groaned. "Dios mio, sexual people are weird. Why are ya'll obsessed with fucking things?!"

Simmons clenched his fist, frowning, "I still can't believe we're talking about this. It's like bestiality. They aren't human."

" _Neither were Neanderthals exactly, but humans still had kids with them_ ," Squishy pointed out.

"Those were ancient peoples, and at least those things were more human than  _robots_ ," Simmons grumbled.  These guys are a completely different species!"

Sari arched a brow, "You mean, we're all different races?"

Simmons paled, "That's not what I meant."

"So, you're saying that two sentient races, who can fully consent to relations between them, is something that should be wrong?" Charlie asked, leaning forward. "Buddy, like, half the people here aren't white, or are at least of mixed race." Before anyone could say anything, Squishy removed their glove, showing their darker skin hues. The Milagros cousins nodded, as did Sari and Fowler. "And by race, I mean once upon a time they were considered different species. Hell, they weren't even considered human."

"But the cybertronians  _aren't_ human, or even part of a similar species" Simmons protested. "This isn't a racist thing."

Squishy shrugged, "Then explain what it is."

Simmons began stuttering, searching for something to say.  He finally said, "I'm trying not to be the asshole in the room, but it's almost as if you're sexualizing them."

Now that was a major segway.

Sari twiddled her thumbs, "Won't lie, that happens, but it also happens for everything and everyone. A major thing for humans is that if something exists, then there's pornography and/or sexual fantasies of it."

Simmons made a gesture at Sari, "See?"

"However, you're missing a key point," Sari said, clearly offended. "The idea of consent."

Marissa snorted, "Right, animals and things like them can't grant it, but in this case, the cybertronians can."

"Plus when you talk about it being a fetish, keep in mind what racism has done for a lot of people. To some people, being with a person from a different race is like achieving a milestone, or making the person into some kind of sex object."

Sari rolled her eyes, "Look, whether or not it's possible doesn't matter. You guys are people with your own relationships, your own futures. If you want kids, then what matters is how the people having kids feel, and if they're able to take care of them. If you can't or don't want to, don't. If you can and want to, then do it. Everyone else? They can screw off."

Marissa and Elios appeared grateful. Sam raised his hand, "By the way, being like this is really freaky, kind of like a second puberty, but I'm starting to understand that it's not the end of me, but something new. That's not a bad thing. So, while I can't speak for everyone, being a part of this? It's kind of, cool."

Sari gave him a high five.

Simmons grunted, "And what about them being part machine?"

"Cyborgs are a thing, as are people with prosthetics," Charlie pointed out. "Are you going to say they shouldn't exist either?"

"Well, as long as its not MECH, then it should be okay," Simmons conceded. At the confused looks sent his way, he waved his hand. "It's a group of bad guys who are obsessed with tech and building war machines."

Fowler scoffed, "That's the simple version. We'll talk about it later."

Simmons sighed, running a hand through his graying hair, "Look, what about the idea of them having kids at all? I mean, the big guys could easily squish human kids, and the humans wouldn't know what to do with 'sparklings'. And what would you even do with a blend of the two? It's unknown territory."

A soft voice said, "What would be wrong with that?"

All eyes turned to Chief Burns. In his hands he had a picture of his wife, his very pregnant wife. His expression was tender, and warm. "I'm scared to have kids, but I know that I would love them. They could always be confusing, or stressful, or strange, but they're still someone precious to me. I wouldn't care if we're technically related or not. I just want to raise them right, in whatever form they take. It's always going to be a struggle, but that doesn't mean they're not worth it."

Lennox playfully elbowed him, "Plus, if one of the biggest and toughest bots we've encountered can be good with my daughter, I don't see why it can't happen. Heck, I even made the guy her godfather. That has too count for something."

Squishy carefully inclined their head, " _And relationships don't have to be based off sex or sexual desires. If you do need it in a relationship, good for you. If you don't, good for you."_

Ofelia held her chin, "What about you and Optimus? Anything happening there?"

The James Bond-Spiderman hybrid hummed, " _Not entirely sure. If there is, we'll take our time. If not, I would never mind him being a friend. He's someone I care about, and I'm fairly sure he cares about me. There's nothing wrong about that, is there?_ "

Simmons and Fowler looked like their entire paradigms had shifted. There were obviously more questions, but maybe that was for another time. Fowler cleared his throat, and turned to Squishy, "How about you? What's your story?"

"It's got to be interesting when you're James Bond, Spiderman, and Darth Vader all wrapped up into one," Charlie giggled. 

Squishy was quiet for a moment, trying to find the words. " _I hit Starscream with a car."_

Everyone waited, "And?"

" _And I decided that a group of robots trying to kill people was bad, so I dressed up in costumes to stop the bad robots and annoyed all of them?"_

"That's your thing, annoying people?"

Squishy shrugged. " _Hasn't failed me so far. I don't see a reason to stop now."_

 Sam frowned, "Hey, Sari? You said techno-organics can fuse, right? So, can we confirm that someone is techno-organic by trying to fuse?"

"Well, if someone is too human, then nothing should happen. So, it should be safe."

"So, it's not like the drop of blood rule?"

Sari blinked, confused, "What's that?"

"A prejudiced idea where if someone has a single drop of blood in them from differences races, they no longer are the race they originally claimed to be," Sam said. "It was used mainly for white people, where if there was a single drop of blood from black people, then that person was black."

Sari wrinkled her nose, "Wow, that's, disturbing. And no, the 'one drop rule', doesn't apply. You can still have some cybertronian in you without that making you cybertronian or even techno-organic. What happens is like how Sam described it in the most basic sense, a second puberty. Everybody has different kinds of reactions to their bodies as they grow, through mental, physically, or emotional means. Sam's bloodline has been dealing with cybertronian tech for so long, it's changed them, and combined with his trauma and other events, like where his mind was affected by tech, it was pretty much only a matter of time before something happened."

Sam smirked at Simmons, who paled in turn. "Oh no, I'm not-"

"Scared?" Fowler asked, sipping more cocoa. "Sari even said if you've got some cybertronian in you, it's not enough to make you techno-organic. What matters is how much is there, and what it can do. Besides, aren't you the least bit curious?"

Simmons shook his head, "I'll only do it if you guys do."

Ofelia groaned, reaching for the Enigma of Combination, and grabbed her cousin. "Ofelia?!"

"It's not a big deal, cousin. And there's no sex or incest stuff involved either. So, let's try it."

"...There's no dancing or posing, right?" he asked warily.

The woman just shoved it into his hand, the device starting to glow. Blue light began to travel up their arms, and in a flash, there stood someone entirely new. They had mostly the same features, likely since they were family members, but they were fairly androgynous. It only happened for a moment, and there was another flash of light. Where the one person had been, there was two again.

Elios was shivering, "Please, can we not do that again?"

Sari hummed, "That means you guys might have enough cybertronian in you that the possibility of becoming techo-organics is there. Doesn't necessarily mean you'll become them, just a possibility. The duration was too short to be sure though."

Charlie leapt up, grabbing Sam by the hand before practically snatching the device, "Us next!"

Sam flushed, "Uh, no offense, I don't really-"

"Please?" she asked, "I want to see if I'm part cybertronian or not."

Sam hesitated, but placed his hand on the Enigma as well. Lines started going up Charlie's arms, but nothing happened. The woman grimaced, "Ow."

"Sorry, Charlie," Sari said. "You're got some in you, but not enough."

Charlie still beamed, "But I'm still part, and that's really cool to think about."

Fowler stepped up, pushing the enigma into Sam's hands. "We've both been around cybertronians, and been tortured by Megatron and his cronies. I don't think it's possible, but I can't outright deny it either."

"...Is this like, a radioactive or genetic test at this point?" Burns asked. "If so, I'm not sure how I feel about this."

There was a flash of light, and before all stood a man with both a lithe form, and somewhat of a gut. If it was made from fat, who could tell? They had poofy hair, darker skin tones than Sam, but also had a mixture of Sam's punk style and Fowler's suit. Ofelia smiled, "Okay, I thought that was going to be a whole lot more terrifying since some combos are just hideous. But, I can't deny that's a bit of a cool sense of style."

"And that form is lasting longer than most," Charlie said, "How do you guys feel?"

The voice somehow was both deep, and slightly squeaked at the end. "A little funny. I thought I could hear, that we could hear, the other's thoughts?"

"That takes training and experience unless there's a strong bond in place," Sari stated. "Especially when you're at least part human. Cybertronians have it easy in that department. Never could figure out why."

"Probably because they have similar, literal, wiring, and with humans DNA and brain matter are too different from person to person?" Ofelia offered. "ANd our biology overall is complex enough so that people can't have offspring with some and in others it's just not a healthy thing?"

There were grunts and other sounds that confirmed the idea of it being a possibility.

One by one, people tried it, some happier than others. Then, it was Simmons as the last person who hadn't fused. "I uh, don't think I'll like this."

Sam offered his hand, "It's weird, but not that bad. And, you'll never know unless you try, right?"

Simmons tentatively placed his hand on the device, Sam on the other side. For almost as long as they could remember, despite the problems the two had, they had been dealing with the Autobots and Decepticons for as long as the current era knew. They were some of the first. They had both been hurt by cybertronians, and had made friends along the way. There was no easy way to describe them, but that didn't make their bond any less valid.

Sure enough, there was a flash of light. As soon as it appeared, it stopped, the two standing apart again. Simmons chuckled nervously, "So, if I hadn't panicked-?"

"Yeah," Sam snorted. "You could be like me. You could be like Sari, or anybody here who fused. You're part cybertronian."

Elios was the first to clap and cheer, "One of us! One of us! One of us!"

Even Marissa and Fowler called it out, others chiming in. Then, Lennox stopped, "Wait, does this mean Annabelle could become a techno-organic?"

* * *

 

Ofelia Milagros watched from a distance as the other humans did some more of their group bonding. It had been a little weird for the three Milagros cousins to fuse, but everyone seemed to like the gender-neutral Spiderman, for whatever that was worth.

Outside, she looked at the stars, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She didn't know how to feel about the whole bot and human relationship stuff. She had joked with her cousins before, but deep down she wasn't sure how much she had meant it. Was that a bad thing? Her thoughts troubled her.

Something that was even more troubling, however, was the jet-like form in the sky searching for something in the distance. Ofelia considered her options, and made a choice...

Megatron was going to get another bazooka to the face.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved Sari Sumdac as a kid, and I still do, but there was a point in time where I did question the validity of her existence. People kept on calling her a fake Transformer, and a Mary Sue. As time passed, I realized that there are reasons she may exist, intentionally or not. 
> 
> In the comics, people of Cybertron and those of Earth start to blend together. In the movies and TV shows, for some reason with the exception of Transformers: The Animated Series and the original Transformers, the cybertronians keep themselves a secret.
> 
> Because of how the worlds are intertwined in the various series, there's going to be a point in time where people need to ask about relationships between the different species. There is going to be crossovers of culture, the different kinds of relationships asked of, what can and should be mixed, and what responsibilities should be taken.
> 
> It's going to require for uncomfortable or strange topics to be touched upon, and I think the idea of familial units between the species should be one of them.


	33. Chapter Previews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be doing some house and school work soon, but in the meantime, here's a few sneak peeks at what's happening in the writing process.

Ofelia had donned on her disguise, becoming a blend of Spiderman and James Bond once more. Traveling through the cave paths that Maristella had laid out, she was cautious. Standing in an area opposite of where she came, she raised the bazooka in her arms, and focused on the flying figure that appeared to be scouting the area.

She had thought about the possibility of it being a trap, but also recognized that she was too emotionally invested in blasting something to really care. Besides, this way, she would be redirecting the son of a mech (please don’t say she’s picking up their lingo), to elsewhere. So, this benefitted not only in mediating her anger, but also in keeping others safe.

Aiming, she immediately ducked after firing, and ran in an even further distance away from where the base was. There was a loud explosion, and a scream of rage. Where she stood before? It was blasted, and there stood the largest bot she ever came across…Wearing an eye patch.

Right, she took his eye out. With those shark-like teeth? Ofelia was tempted to ask him to say, “Argh,” like a pirate. He might actually be able to pull it off.

“Here little human,” he growled, trying to sound pleasant. Instead, he came off as a horror film wannabe. Honestly, it was a little cliché. “I won’t hurt you-“

He got another rocket in the face. His shrieking was honestly hilarious. Ofelia wasn’t even surprised when Airachnid showed up. Instead, she rolled her eyes and took out her handy can opener. Airachnid grimaced, then froze, “It’s _that_ human.”

Starscream had followed not far behind, still largely banged up. He glanced around anxiously, just afraid as, if not more, Airachnid. Good. “Lord Megatron, I do not think it to be uh, _healthful_ , to linger around a human capable of such destruction with their bare servos.”

Right, servos were hands. Thinking carefully, she entered a more echoing place, and began clinking her can opener. Starscream squeaked, leaping into Airachnid’s arms. At first  she was annoyed, but then she tensed and flinched just as much as he did, her extra spidery limbs enclosing around her as if they could be a shield. Megatron was only agitated, making various comments meant to lure Ofelia out. Instead, she rolled her eyes and took out a music player and microphone. Both were old, and damaged, and thus, expendable.

Smirking, she tossed it, pressing  the play button. Loud music burst out, and Ofelia escaped into the caves as Megatron was Rick Rolled, with no hope of being able to find the tiny tool. He roared and tried tearing stuff apart, unsuccessful in his endeavors.

"WHEN I FIND YOU, I WILL MAKE YOU EXPERIENCE THE WORST OF TERROR!"

" _What, like your face?"_

Needless to say, Megatron's expression was priceless.

* * *

 

Fowler frowned, "The question is, how do we break into MECH's base when they know what all of us look like?"

Charlie shrugged nonchalantly, "Why not fuse? I mean, making fake IDs is kind of easy, and when you guys are fused, you're all literally very different people."

There was a long pause before Sam slapped his forehead. Elios inclined his head at Charlie, "I like her. She's got brains."

* * *

"Breakdown, please don't crush the homophobic people," Elios said, waving his hands to calm down the big guy. "It's flattering, but it'll make a huge mess."

That was possibly the darkest thing, even if humorous,  that anybody had heard Elios say. Breakdown and Knockout both stared, then grinned. It was only after Breakdown took Elios out for a joy ride that Knockout got his surgical tools. "Time for surgery."

* * *

 

Ofelia and Soundwave stood in a small arena, both wordlessly examining each other and their chains and collars. Leland Bishop then commanded, "If you two want to survive, you will need to fight each other, to the death."

Ofelia  yawned, "Normally, I don't have a problem with that, but you guys are assholes so..." She turned to Soundwave, "You get the walls and doors, I get the windows and assholes?"

There was a slight nod, and the destruction commenced.

* * *

 

Soundwave watched as the female human, almost gleefully, stabbed one of MECH's officers with a pen, smiling as she leapt and hit and kicked everyone in her path. Ruins lay in her wake. It was the moment Soundwave understood that Ofelia Milagros didn't just fight like a gladiator, but was a force of destruction incarnate.

* * *

Sam rolled as he snatched the child out of the way of the decepticons destruction. He knelt and held out his arm just as Sari had showed him, and fired straight at Shockwave's chest. Charlie moved behind him and picked up the young boy, his glasses askew and hair slightly singed. "You okay kid?"

The kid in question adjusted his glasses, blinking in surprise, "Yeah, I think I'm good. By the way, that robot's leaking fluid that might be combustible."

"Combustible means you can set it on fire, right?" Sam asked both the boy and Charlie.

Both gave their affirmation, and Sam shot at the fluids. Like gasoline, the fire trailed up the liquid, and burst once it hit Shockwave's metallic form. Same tugged Charlie's arm as the three ran as fast as they could. 

* * *

 

 

"You want me to team up with you?"

Megatron grinned, showing his shark-like teeth creepily. "Are the terms satisfactory?"

Ofelia Milagros narrowed her eyes at the former gladiator, thinking deeply before shrugging. "Human history has always always been built on revolutions, rebellion, and change. I don't see why it should stop now."

 


	35. Temporary chapter

EDIT

11/22/2019 - Hey everybody, college is really stressful  and helping out on this will make things a lot easier to write. Agroup and I have a research project for a few classes that involves a survey. We need a larger sample size. It's not an official survey, just experimental for really, really inexperienced college students. It takes on average (so far), 3 minutes pending how you answer:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7C3Z68K

Thank you.


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